Glassblowing and Annealing

The glassblower brings the gather of glass to the workbench, where it is shaped using wooden tools called blocks. Once the glass is symmetrically shaped, the glassblower blows down the pipe forcing blown into a wooden form to create the general shape of the piece. At this point a stem, a handle or foot are attached depending on the pipe being made.

Once the piece is finished, it is placed in a special oven called a "Lehr" which is set at 950 Centigrade. The glass must be cooled very slowly to avoid cracking and to relieve any stress in the piece. This process, called annealing, takes about 1 hour.