Tuesday, July 24, 2018

Great (Glass) Balls of Fire

This past weekend we visited the town of Hergiswil, Switzerland.
It is located at the foot of Mt. Pilatus...
...on the shore of Lake Luzern.

And it is where the ONLY Glass Factory resides in Switzerland.










There we toured the Glass Museum:
Glass dogs!


Watched the men on the factory floor making a sectioned plate:
That can be found in their catalog:
The 2018 Gift Catalog.












And we blew glass! Joe, Maureen and I got to make our own glass ball ornaments - so cool! (Actually it was quite warm in there.😉)

First the glass craftsman gets the glass ready:
He takes a molten blob of glass...
...out of the oven.

Then he forms it into a ball.
And with a little puff, he forms an air pocket.

And then we...
...blew...
...Blew...

BLEW!
Joe's glass ball turned out the best of all three of ours. Maybe because he is full of hot air? Nah, that couldn't be why! He also chose to create one with grooves in the design:
Joe's masterpiece!
In order to get the 'grooves' imprinted into the glass, the craftsman inserted it into a mold before Joe blew it out:
Interesting choice of footwear for a man who plays with molten glass all day.













Maureen and my glass balls didn't turn out so bad either:
Mo's masterpiece!
My masterpiece!

Plus the camera caught my funny face as I blew:
When the factory camera went off...
...and what was shown to everyone in the factory. Nice?




Outside the factory there were some amazing sights as well:
A glass tower...



















...complete...
...with built-in...
...Kaleidoscopes!
It was a glass half-full kind of day. Hopefully you feel the same way after you read my poem:
from the belly of the oven
come works of art
clearly 
©2018, Bridget Magee. All Rights Reserved.
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6 comments:

  1. Soon you can put them on a Christmas tree!
    Looks like great fun. Thanks for sharing your adventures with us

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    1. Thanks, Jeanette for following our adventures. I think we are going to decorate them with LED lights and hang them year round in our new place (which we'll move into in November). =)

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  2. I love seeing the inside of the factory, that platter-making, then your own blown wonders! A former parent who was a scientist came once to show my students how he created glass pieces for his lab - fascinating. And, I love that "clearly", Bridget. Thanks for sharing!

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    1. Thank you, Linda! Yes, I find most factories fascinating, but a glass works factory is especially interesting because we use glass in every aspect of our lives. Thanks for always encouraging me with my poetry - I appreciate it. =)

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  3. Ah, that sectioned plate looks like just the ticket for kids who panic when their corn touches their mashed potatoes.

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    Replies

    1. Yes, Chris, there are many practical uses for that plate, but anything that can ward off a child's meltdown is invaluable. Thanks for commenting! =)

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