Glass Ornaments ~ Glass Christmas Ornaments ~ Blown Glass Ornaments ~ Art Glass and More

Vintage glass ornaments have been made in many shapes and styles. The picture here is of a lady in red made in Murano Venice around the 1960s. These figures were made in pairs of a male and female in many different colors.

Figures made in glass have become highly prized by collectors and depending on how well they have been made can command high prices.

Some of the most spectacular vintage glass ornaments were made in the Art Nouveau and Art Deco periods in France. Companies like Galle, Daum and Legras produced beautiful wares in cameo glass made in multiple color layered glass, cut through the colors to leave realistic landscape scenes in the different seasons.

During the Art Deco period Lalique, Etling and Sabino companies, made molded opalescent glass of lifelike animals. These animals, like birds and fish would also be molded into bowls and vases in high relief to produce some of the most amazing vintage glass ornaments ever made.

Picture - Vintage Glass Ornament of a Lady in Red.

The method of making blown glass ornaments or sometimes referred to as hand blow glass ornaments has changed very little over the years. As they say "If it ain't broke don't fix it" Blowing of glass started in Roman times whereby a gather of molten glass would be gathered on the end of the blowpipe and air blown into the other end to expand the molten glass into a bubble.

The blown glass bubble can be swung by the glassmaker to elongate the piece to the required length and shape to produce various types of vessels. During this time the glass item being made, still attached to the blowing iron, would be put into the glory hole from time to time to heat it back up to a good working heat. The glass blower, throughout all these stages would be turning the gather to prevent it sagging due to the still flexible form.

Once satisfied with the dimensions of this eventual hand blown glass ornament, another member of the glassblowing team, or chair, would heat a pontil iron with a small amount of glass on the end and attach this to the end of the bubble on the blowpipe.

The opposite end of the bubble would now be cut from the blowpipe and can be further worked on, on the pontil iron. The open end can be opened out further, closed, stretched, given a spout, frilled edge or given whatever shape is required. At this still soft state handles can be added, other applied decoration, pinched and almost anything the glass artisan wishes to do.

The glass making process is not complete until the glass is annealed. Only when all hand work is finished the pontil iron would be cracked off and the item placed in the annealing chamber to cool down at a gradual pace. After a period which can take days of this gradual cooling, the blown glass ornament will be strong enough for use. When next holding a piece of beautiful hand blown glass, I hope you will now better understand the skills required and how glass is made.

When I started to write the article "How Glass is Made - Blown Glass Ornaments" I found myself explaining in every sentence or so, the terms used in glass making. This made it a bit awkward to read. So thought it a better idea to make a list of the tools and terms used by glass makers. Hope this is helpful for anyone not familiar with hand blow glass making. Anyone else who understands this terminology will skip this section.

"The Chair" - Where the Gaffer sits, has two extended arms to roll the iron up and down while working the hot glass ornament being made.

"The Chair" - Is also the name for a glassmaking team, usually comprising of 3 to 4 people.

"Glass Cone" - Is the brick cone shaped building designed to create a draught beneath the fires to maintain a constant temperature to the crucibles which are arranged in a circle.

"Crucible" - Is the clay pot that contains the molten glass.

"Paraison" - Is the molten glass blob or also called the "gather" which is picked up by the blowing iron from the crucible.

"The Blowing Iron" - Is the long hollow metal tube which collects the "gather" or "paraison" of glass from the crucible and which the glassblower blows air through to expand the bubble.

"The Marver" - Is a metal table where the molten glass paraison can be rolled to pre-form or lengthen the paraison.

"The Pontil Iron" - Is a solid metal rod which is preheated, a small molten glass blob added to the tip can then be introduced to the glass bubble on the blowpipe to facilitate the separation of the bubble from the blowpipe.

"Shears" - Used to cut the glass bubble from the blowing iron after it has been transferred onto the pontil iron.

Here is a great little idea that I came across recently especially with Christmas coming up. Its an ebook that teaches you how to make clear glass Christmas ornaments that I suppose could be used as a decoration any other time of year with a little imagination.

The glass ornaments look like blocks if ice decorated as colorful Christmas presents. Another plus factor with the ebook is you can make a bit of extra cash if you wanted to sell on your decorated blocks.

Here is a list I have made up for you, of the things this little book teaches.

*** Learn how to get top dollar for your Decorated Christmas Glass Block!

*** Learn the best places to set up your displays for instant sales!

*** Learn the best places to get the light strands that go inside the Glass Blocks.

*** Learn what kind of Christmas lights to use.

*** Learn what color of Christmas lights sell the best.

*** Learn the best and quickest way to drill the Glass Blocks!

*** Learn which drill bit is best to use!

*** Learn what size to drill the hole to fit the Christmas light strand.

*** Learn what to do about the pesky glass dust that forms inside of your Glass Block!

*** Learn how to cleverly save on supplies for your Decorated Glass Block!

*** Learn which Decorated Glass Blocks sell better than the others!

*** Learn what to charge for your decorated Glass Block!

*** Learn the most effective method for making beautifully aligned bows!(complete bow tutorial included with pictures!)

*** Learn what type of ribbon to use!

*** Learn what type of ribbon will sell the best!

*** Learn what adornments to put on your block to make it sell instantly!

Take a look at the site and learn how to make, Christmas or anytime of year Clear Glass Christmas Ornaments

Spun glass ornaments are made from small rods of glass that are heated to high temperatures and stretched or spun into ornamental shapes and patterns.

These shapes can be sculptural, figures and often made into interesting jewelery. The artists making the spun glass items use a high temperature flame to heat the glass rods to melting point and stretch it into the various shapes we call spun glass ornaments.

Using colored glass rods along with clear rods can make some beautiful sculptures and many people have started to form collections of them. Modern spun glass items are reasonably affordable where as on the other hand, an antique type, or a frigger as the are refereed to, are very expensive to buy.

Antique Glass Paperweights
Glass ornaments in the form of paperweights must be one of my favorites. To look into these glass spheres and be amazed at how could they manage to make such delicate miniature specimens.

Around about 1850 in France the Baccarat, Saint Louis and Clichy companies were producing glass paperweights with a quality unequaled until fairly recent times.

The minuscule glass canes making up the millefiori designs and the life like flowers with foliage to form miracle glass ornaments.

Mid 20th Century Paperweights
It wasn't till about the mid 20th century that anything of a quality resembling these early French paperweights were to be produced again.

The two people mostly responsible for bringing this quality back to paperweight making were Paul Ysart in Scotland and Charles Kasiun in the USA.

Others were to follow in their footsteps and go on to produce, some of the most remarkable glass ornaments ever to be made in the form of paperweights.