27
3 4
7 8 9
www.wrightsvillebeachmagazine.com WBM
13
B CEDAR CREEK GLASSBLOWER Lisa Oakley
shapes the first gather of clear glass, and uses a wooden
tool called a block. C She adds frit, chips of colored
glass, to the clear glass. D Lisa shapes the glass with
a pad while Matt Decker blows into the pipe. The pad
she uses is called a paper, sheets of unprinted newsprint
folded and kept wet. The pressure and cooling effect of
the paper helps control where the glass blows out,
shaping the piece the way she wants. E Lisa shapes the
glass with the paper. F Matt assists Lisa with the trans-fer.
They attach a punty, a steel rod, with a bit of glass
on the end to the glass on the pipe. At the pipe end, the
glass is then cracked off in a controlled manner, trans-ferring
the work to the punty for continued work.
G The second furnace heats to 2,300°F. H As the
piece is removed from “the hole,” the orange glow
shows the heat of the glass at the opening. I Lisa
reheats the glass. J She opens the bowl with tools
called jacks. K Matt and Lisa add a contrasting lip
wrap of colored glass along the top of the piece.
L Ready for further opening, the orange glow indicates
where the glass is hot enough to be malleable. M Using
heat and centrifugal force, Lisa opens the form of the
bowl. N The finished piece before it is removed from
the punty and will be placed into an annealing oven
(900°F) for cooling overnight.