From the book 'Glass on fire'

It's like riding a bicycle

When someone comes to my glass studio for the first time, I almost always get the same questions:"Is glassblowing difficult?" and "Is glassblowing expensive?".

In principle, I should then immediately clarify that what I do cannot necessarily be called glass blowing, but usually I reply with "It's like riding a bike.

Flameworking is a form of glass processing that uses a burner to melt the glass. Once melted, the glass is shaped by blowing air into it or sculpting it with tools and hand movements.

FLAMEWORK = LAMPWORK
difficult?

Is flamework difficult?

Glass blowing at the burner is no harder to learn than riding a bicycle. And once you master it, you never forget it. Now that's a pretty trite answer, because just as there are children who can ride a bike right away without support wheels, with others it takes a lot of trial and error. It is the same with glass blowing: anyone can learn it, but some succeed just a little faster than others.

expensive?

Is flamework expensive?

You can also compare the price tag to start flamework to what it costs to ride a bike.

Keep in mind, though, that you can ride a cheap used bike from the Circuit Shop as well as an e-bike, and you can even buy yourself an expensive professional road bike with ditto equipment.

The cost of becoming a flameworker varies equally.

You don't need much equipment, and you can feel free to start your new hobby with used equipment. Those who do not want to purchase a lot of materials right away can also spend time at a glass studio renting a burner.

But believe me freely: once you get the hang of it, you will always want something new. If it is not a beautiful color of glass, you will buy some - in your eyes indispensable - tool. And so that fairly inexpensive hobby can often become an expensive addiction after all.

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