History

• The exact source of man-made glass is not known, but the Roman historian Pliny maintained that Phoenician sailors unknowingly discovered glass when they used natron material to hold their cookware and the fire mixed with the sand. After this finding, the Egyptians went on to establish the glass manufacturing industry. At that time, before the Christian Era, glass was so expensive and challenging to make that it became equal in value to natural gems.
  
  

Methods

• Decorative glass can be produced using a variety of techniques, including furnace (offhand) glassblowing, lampworking, fusing and casting. Each process is distinct in its execution. For example, offhand artists gather molten glass out of a furnace to blow and shape their work. Lampworkers (flameworkers) use a table-top torch to form and inflate rods and tubes of glass. Fusers arrange cold pieces of glass in various compositions and place them inside kilns, which are like ovens, to reach high temperatures and melt the material into one piece. Further, casters may scoop molten glass out of a furnace and pour the hot substance into a fire-proof mold to take the shape of its encasement.
  
  

Forms

• Art glass can take an unlimited number of forms and be used for both aesthetics as well as function. Common glass designs include sculpture, goblets, bowls, chandeliers and wall art. Additionally, artists are creating designs that act as elements in multiple household objects including sinks, shower tiles, knife handles and wine stoppers.
  
  

Decorative Glass Artists

• Many decorative glass artists are still working and honing their craft today. Just a couple of the many notable creators include Richard Marquis, an American artist who trained in Venice and is known for his whimsical, hand-blown glass teapots. Suellen Fowler, a celebrated lampworker, is well known for her distinctive perfume bottles and detailed dragon sculptures. Additionally, Pino Cherchi an Italian-born glass artist, develops architectural cast glass pieces, often adding mixed media, such as metal, during the hot-cast process.
  
  

Signatures

• Decorative glass can be handmade by an individual artist or studio, so most creators mark their pieces with a distinctive signature. These autographs evidence the authenticity of the work as well as add value for the owner. Signatures can be a variation of a name and date and are usually found on the underside of an item. Artists sign their items using a variety of mechanisms including a titanium pen, Dremel tool or a fused piece of trademark cane.