My old teacher told me to never blow a bubble on the first gather

Back when I was learning at the studio in Asheville, my instructor was firm about this. He said to always take a second gather of clear glass over your color before you even start to shape it. For a year, I thought it was just extra work that slowed me down. Then I tried making a set of six tumblers with some expensive cobalt blue frit, skipping that step on the first one. The color just went dull and grainy, like it got burned. Ruined the piece and wasted about $30 worth of that blue. The other five, where I did the clear cap, came out vibrant and smooth. It finally clicked that the clear layer protects the color from the direct heat of the glory hole. Has anyone else had a simple rule like that save their work after ignoring it for a while?

3 comments

3 Comments

caleb_hill22d ago

Learn the expensive way, that's always the best teacher. Bet you won't skip that step again.

haydenbutler21d ago

My last "expensive lesson" cost about three hundred bucks and a whole Saturday. The universe has a funny way of adding a service fee to every shortcut. I'm pretty sure my wallet has learned more than I have at this point.

grayjohnson21d ago

That three hundred dollar Saturday sounds rough... but I've found the expensive way isn't always the best teacher. Sometimes it's just the most punishing one. A good lesson should actually teach you why the step matters, not just make you scared of the cost. If the only thing you learn is to never skip it again, you might not understand what you're doing right when you do it. The goal should be knowing the reason, not just fearing the price tag.