All About Glass and Glass Collecting

There has been much debate about whether studio glass should be classified as art or craft. What is the difference between art and craft anyways? This article goes over the history of studio glass briefly and explains why the classification is not that important compared to appreciating it as it is.

Studio glass is defined as unique work handmade by a single artist-maker, as distinguished from factory-made glassware.

France was the center since the 1880s, with famous artists like Emile Galle, Louis Comfort Tiffany, and their contemporaries. Other famous French names are Henry Cros, Albert Dammous, Maurice Marinot, and Francois Decorchemont. Georges Despret, a Belgian, also contributed to the process.

In the 1950s in America, artists began to establish networks, in which they concentrated on kiln-forming - fusing, slumping, enameling, and lampworking. In the 1960s, the small pot kiln developed which could be set up anywhere and was manageable by one artist. Another discovery that fueled the American movement was the availability of glass that melts at low temperatures. Harvey Littleton was an influential figure in this.

(Read more about American art glass here: History of Glassmaking.)

As interesting as the history of studio glass is, some people worry about its classification. Is it art or craft?

It is hard to decide on, because its very definition is very blurry; is a glassware studio glass just because it was handmade or made by one single artist? Unlike our assumptions today, early factory-made glassware was not always made by machines. Meanwhile, individual artists may use molds or other various tools and "machines" that technically disqualify their work from being defined as studio glass. But that seems to be too narrow a definition and seems to make little sense.

Moreover, it is not clear why the term "craft" should have a negative connotation, especially because it originally meant "magic, strength, power, science" in the 15th century. Craftsmen have been and are an integral part of the society and the art scene. They make useful things that we cannot live without.

Similarly, art can be useful, too. Many monumental works serve a function, and modern art and design works are often as aesthetically appealing as they are useful. But somehow many people seem to believe that the biggest characteristic of art is that it is useless.

Like this, art vs. craft and its hierarchy has been debated for a long time, but the distinction seems to be superfluous and blurred at most. While studio glass is by some people still seen as "mere craft" (because glass is so firmly identified with utility), others have changed its concept since the 1980s by jumping from studio glass to a new term, "glass art." This seems to be the general trend now, but regardless of its classification or definition, glassmaking techniques take years to perfect and deserves respect as it is.

A bigger collection is not always better than a smaller collection.

Especially if you are a beginning collector, do not stress about the size of your collection. After all, you want to own things that you really like and appreciate, instead of buying things that take up space just for the sake of expanding your collection.

Also keep in mind that no glass is absolutely "better" than others.This is probably the same in any field of art. Various artists have their unique style, and while craftsmanship and creativity in some are "better" than others, there cannot be an absolute ranking.

In addition, collectors change their taste over time and people prefer different types of glassware. That is the very reason that there are numerous artists are out there and the world of glassware is so exciting.

So buy something you love, but if you do not see the perfect glass to add to your collection at the moment, don't worry.

As I mentioned in the previous part, tastes can always change. In addition, your collection is by no means static since you will keep buying and selling glassware from your collection.

Nevertheless, do your research before purchasing your first piece of glassware. Random pieces from various parts of the world and from numerous time periods can be interesting to look at, but may lack focus.

So for example, you could choose a specific color, artist, region, or time period. This will not only help your collection be more focused, but also will keep the cost down so that you can probably purchase more valuable glassware in a concentrated area.

Plus, becoming an expert in an area will help you avoid being scammed.

You might be tempted to walk away, since you do not want to spend money in "unnecessary" stuff.

But maybe other people will like it! Your glassware collection is not static. Buying, trading, and meeting people with similar or different preferences is part of the fun of collecting glass.

So buy it. Such items can be resold at a later time for profit, which you can use to buy glassware that you want to keep.

This will save you time, money, and space.

It will also help you purchase each piece with confidence.
Read books and magazines, or do online research. Go to shows and galleries. Great glass for your collection is often not something you would call inexpensive. You do not want to spend lots of money on something that you will later regret. Take your books with you when you go buy glassware so that you can recognize a good deal and know that you are making the right decision.

You might have thought that nothing from your high school chemistry class would be of use after graduation. But surprisingly, chemistry plays an important part in creating beautiful glass.

Glass is more closely related to Chemistry than one might think; much credit goes to chemists who have discovered elements that can enhance certain aspects of glass, and also improved colors.

Glass is not a naturally occurring substance - basically the cavemen had to wait until a volcano erupted or a lightning struck until they could find some glass. Hence glass today is created artificially, sometimes in factories and sometimes in the private studio of an artist with his or her own glass formula.

There are two essential elements that go into making glass: silica (sand, quartz, flint) and alkali (soda, potash). Alkali melts silica, so that the two can combine easily.

Silica is the most important ingredient, taking up about 60-70%. Venetians traditionally crushed white quartz pebbles, and the English burnt flints for silica. The freer the silica is from impurities, the better. When unrefined silica was used to make glass, the color would turn out to be dark green or brown, which is seen in early glassware and the least expensive types of glassware. But if one wanted to create fine glass, sand had to be washed and heated carefully.

The rest of the glass consists of up to 20% alkali flux. Traditionally, plants and trees were burnt to obtain it. Soda and potash continue to be used in glassmaking even today.

Other ingredients are sometimes added for various purposes:

Lime: For stability. Using lime will produce light and inexpensive glass, used for bottles, window panes, and light bulbs.


Magnesium: to counter the effects of impurities in the sand. It makes glass clear and colorless.

Lead oxide: For weight and brilliance. George Ravenscroft developed the use of lead oxide in 1674 in England, with which he made durable, brilliant, and weighty glass that could sustain deep cuts. The addition of lead oxide literally changed the history of glass and trade because after its appearance the Venetian cristallo lost some of its allure.

Metal oxides: for various colors, be it red, blue, or green. Will be covered in more detail in a later article.

When the proportions of chemical elements are not right, glass might appear "crizzled." Hence understanding chemistry and the combination and interaction of elements are a very important part in creating high quality glass work.

The technique for producing colored glass was discovered before the method for producing clear glass was discovered. Egyptian vessels are notably rich in their opaque colors, especially the various shades of blue. Colored glassware was preferred in order to hide the natural greenish brown color that occurs in natural glass. Apparently, it was much easier to add color than to hide a color that already was there in order to make clear glass. Another reason for using colored glass was that people wanted to imitate the colors of precious stones.

The Romans created colorless glass by adding manganese oxide, and it was greatly prized as luxury good for the wealthy. Quality colored glass was hard to obtain and was thus sometimes as expensive as semi-precious stones. However, after the fall of the Roman Empire, there was little progress in discovering new shades.

Today, numerous kinds of metal oxides are used to create colored glass for various effects. The discovery of chemical elements has made the options of colors even more varied.

How colored glass is made:

There are four stages to creating colored glass.

First, unrefined glass that is naturally green or brown is needed. This can be made by mixing silica and alkali. A related article can be found here.

Second, various metal oxide(s), sulphides, or selenides are added to the batch for creating different colors.
Third, metal colored particles are added.

Fourth, in a process called 'striking,' minute metallic particles are added to the glass, and glass is re-heated. Re-heating must be carefully controlled, because the color of the glass depends on the temperature.
Commonly used coloring agents and resulting colors

The following is the list of metals used to create specific colors. Artists often create their own formula of the right color and right amount of metal to make unique glass products.

Antimony: for yellow

Chromium: for yellow-green

Cobalt: for blue

Copper: for turquoise, green, or red

Gold: for ruby red

Iron: Iron is present naturally in most glassmaking ingredients. This is the element that gives the natural green or brown shades to the glass. If added more, deep emerald green is created. It can also be combined with manganese or antimony to produce yellow, amber, brown, and black.

Manganese: for amethyst, purple, rose-pink

Nickel: for violet (potash-glass), yellow (soda-glass)

Selenium: for pink (soda-glass), amber (lead-glass)

Silver: for yellow

Tin: for opaque white, or opacity in other colors

Titanium: for yellow-brown

Uranium: for greenish yellow

The same color can be made with various metal oxides, but the shade and feel may be different.