Glass blower
Glassblower finished in a glass factory of semi-finished products, the glass tubes and glass rods, artistic household and decorative items, neon tubes for neon signs, thermometers , laboratory equipment and small vessels. The focus is on the design. In contrast to the glassmaker , who also blows glass, the glassblower works “in front of the lamp”, i.e. at the open burner.
history
The glass blowing in front of the lamp takes its name from an oil lamp with a bellows, which used to be used to heat glass rods in order to be able to shape the softened glass into pearls, figurines and all sorts of other decorative objects. In the 17th century the Italians had already developed this technique to a mastery. The oil lamp has long been replaced by the gas (blower) burner , but the name has been retained.
The devices used today, which are operated with compressed air and oxygen , allow temperatures of up to 2500 degrees Celsius . This progress also opens up new possibilities for the artist. Through the controlled supply of compressed air and oxygen, it can not only vary the temperature, but also influence the flame in such a way that either an oxidizing or reducing effect occurs, which in turn leads to different chemical reactions of the auxiliary materials used - metal salts and oxides - and thus to different ones Surface effects leads. In addition, colored glass crumbs and threads are melted, which opens up an almost unlimited range of possibilities for the lamp glass blower. The behavior of different types of glass and chemical substances in the flame needs to be carefully tested; long series of tests with changing mixing ratios are often necessary before the desired result is achieved.
In December 2015, the Conference of Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs in Germany announced that manual glass production as a form of culture would be included in the nationwide list of intangible cultural heritage . On March 11, 2016, the award took place within the meaning of the Convention for the Conservation of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of UNESCO .
education
The profession of glassblower is a recognized apprenticeship, specializing in various fields such as glass apparatus construction, art glass design, Christmas tree decorations, artificial eyes etc. The training usually lasts three years. In the Federal Republic of Germany , what was then the glass academy, today the glass vocational school in Lauscha, was in charge of the nationwide recognition of the apprenticeship, which was established in 1991.
Subjects
A distinction is made between different subjects (some are no longer offered as a teaching profession)
- Apparatus glass blower
- Glass instrument maker (later glass apparatus maker)
- Glass apparatus builder
- Glass blower - ocular prosthetics (ocularist)
- Glass blowers - tree decorations blowers
- Glassblower - tree decoration refiner
- Glassblowers - Glassware Adjusters
- Glassblower - glass designer
- Glass blowers - thermometer blowers
- Glass blower - animal eye shaper
- Neon glass blower
Work equipment of the glass blower
- Table, hand or long burner (flute) with gas and air supply, also in connection with other combustion-promoting gases such as. B. Oxygen
- Coal or metal bulges
- Carbon plate / standard carbon
- Glass cutter
- Lathe
- tweezers
- special didymium glasses
- mandrel
- Blow tube
- Structure pliers
Today's meaning
Many research institutions and chemical laboratories now employ glassblowers for the apparatus sector. In the Lauschaer Raum, Ilm-Kreis , Vogtland , in some areas of Franconia as well as in many other parts of Germany there are still independent glass-blowing factories that also work for the arts and crafts. Also in Austria, such as B. in Weißenstein in Carinthia , and Switzerland there are art glass and glass apparatus blowers.
literature
- Georg Rendl : The glassblowers. Novel. 3 volumes. Pustet, Salzburg et al. 1935–1937.
Movie
- Uwe Kassai: craftsmanship! How to blow a glass , SWR Fernsehen - Landesschau Rheinland-Pfalz from August 17, 2018 (YouTube from November 26, 2018)
Web links
- Description of different types of glass for glass blowing, especially for the production of glass beads
- Association of German Glass Blowers eV
Individual evidence
- ↑ Press release of the Standing Conference .
- ↑ Press release of the German UNESCO Commission , accessed on March 21, 2016.