Spotlight on the Arts
Glass Blowing
8/30/2022 | 2mVideo has Closed Captions
Hand blown art glass by Ray Mathews Jr. is on display in some of the finest galleries...
Hand blown art glass by Ray Mathews Jr. is on display in some of the finest galleries and art exhibits in the world. A graduate of Southern Connecticut State University, with a Bachelor of Science degree in Art Education and a concentration in glassblowing, Ray opened Art Glass By Mathews in Branford, CT in 1975.
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Spotlight on the Arts is a local public television program presented by WGCU-PBS
Spotlight on the Arts is a series of short videos highlighting arts organizations in Southwest Florida. Funding provided by Naomi Bloom in loving memory of her husband, Ron Wallace.
Spotlight on the Arts
Glass Blowing
8/30/2022 | 2mVideo has Closed Captions
Hand blown art glass by Ray Mathews Jr. is on display in some of the finest galleries and art exhibits in the world. A graduate of Southern Connecticut State University, with a Bachelor of Science degree in Art Education and a concentration in glassblowing, Ray opened Art Glass By Mathews in Branford, CT in 1975.
Problems playing video? | Closed Captioning Feedback
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Learn Moreabout PBS online sponsorship(light music) - [Ray] Furnace right now is running about 2,100 degrees plus, which is a perfect temperature for the glass for me to work with.
As being a glass blower, it gets awfully warm in my studio, therefore, I have fans running about 24/7, couple exhaust and couple intakes, just to keep the temperature under 110.
I basically can't work at the furnace for more than two, two and a half hours, because I sweat out so much electrolytes while I'm working.
Right now, I have a blow pipe sitting up in front of the furnace, it's warming up, and I slide it into the furnace, turning it and gathering molten glass on the end, like one would gather honey out of a honey jar.
Remember starting a balloon up.
When you first try to get to expand the balloon, you have to blow a little hard, but as the balloon gets larger, you don't have to blow as hard.
Once I get the piece blown to the certain size I want, I have to remove it from the flow pipe.
To add, introduce color, there's two ways of doing it.
I roll out chips on a table, color chips, and I pick it up into the molten glass.
I believe most people are surprised on how difficult it is, and how easy I make it look.
(metal tapping) (light music)
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Spotlight on the Arts is a local public television program presented by WGCU-PBS
Spotlight on the Arts is a series of short videos highlighting arts organizations in Southwest Florida. Funding provided by Naomi Bloom in loving memory of her husband, Ron Wallace.