Murano is composed of seven islands, linked by bridges,
separated by eight channels and is famous for its glass making and lampworking. We were given a tour of New Murano Gallery and its forge.
The glass forges are on Murano because of the fear of fire when they were located in Venice. The forge always runs -- if it were to cool, it would take days to get it back to temperature. We learned there are two types of glass workers: craftsmen, and artists. The craftsmen execute the same designs over and over and are quick. The artists design new pieces. Both can take 15 years to reach "Master" status.
Once the pieces are blown or shaped, they go into another furnace in which the temperature is gradually reduced over 24 hours. If the pieces were just left out, they would crack in minutes. The gradual cool-down prevents this.
We wish we could show you pictures of the gallery itself. Pictures weren't allowed, but take it from us, the work there was just amazing! Leigh liked the plates that had a swirled design in them. Glass rods are fused together longwise to create a cylinder. The glass is twisted when hot to create the swirl, then the cylinder of glass is blown out to the shape desired. I saw a set of glass body musical instruments -- guitar and violin -- that took my breath away.
The glass forges are on Murano because of the fear of fire when they were located in Venice. The forge always runs -- if it were to cool, it would take days to get it back to temperature. We learned there are two types of glass workers: craftsmen, and artists. The craftsmen execute the same designs over and over and are quick. The artists design new pieces. Both can take 15 years to reach "Master" status.
Once the pieces are blown or shaped, they go into another furnace in which the temperature is gradually reduced over 24 hours. If the pieces were just left out, they would crack in minutes. The gradual cool-down prevents this.
We wish we could show you pictures of the gallery itself. Pictures weren't allowed, but take it from us, the work there was just amazing! Leigh liked the plates that had a swirled design in them. Glass rods are fused together longwise to create a cylinder. The glass is twisted when hot to create the swirl, then the cylinder of glass is blown out to the shape desired. I saw a set of glass body musical instruments -- guitar and violin -- that took my breath away.
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