Hot Taffy Glassblowing and Jewelry

09/06/2021

The heat is intense, and the craft is tricky to master – but what’s really alarming is that no one acknowledges how rude this looks

07/28/2021

The Retirement of a Master…

Lino Tagliapietra Announces Retirement from the Furnace

Seattle, WA - For 75 years glass has been my life and the furnace my home. All my thoughts have been devoted to glass. Its principles have always been the foundations from which to start and its strict rules the structure of my entire life.

Today, because of my love and respect for glass, which has given me so much and that I hope I have reciprocated, I feel I must take what I think will be the hardest and most important decision of my life. I have decided to retire from manual work and from the furnace that during this long and wonderful time has gifted me with immense satisfaction, freedom of expression, incredible encounters, and ultimately pure passion for the craft.

I would like to be able to personally thank and say goodbye to all the people I have met during these 75 years, but I realize I would need another 75 years to do so... I would like to share this moment with all the boys and girls, now men and women, who have shared with me a part of this long journey. I truly hope I have taught them all something and, most of all, I hope I have passed down to them even a small part of the passion that I have always felt for glass. Passion is what always encourages us to look for something new and different in everything, it constantly presents us with new challenges and new goals to reach and does not leave room for following someone else’s style. The real challenge is always and only with ourselves, with our desire to overcome another limit, to follow another horizon, and look for a new goal…

07/17/2021

05/18/2021

Yup. Story of mah life!! 😅

Netflix’s “Blown Away” winner Deborah Czeresko had to explain what a glass-blowing “glory hole” was to octagenarian philanthropist Barbara Tobe.

04/10/2021

Lino Tagliapietra, considered by most as the greatest glassblower in history, is a mentor, motivator, and visionary. Bridging the divide between Italian and ...

02/26/2021

This Positano stands at 20.5" tall and 15.75" wide. Positano demonstrates the historic Venetian glassblowing technique filigrana. The technique itself dates back to the sixteenth century, and involves a master glassblower twisting together fine canes to create an overlapping pattern. As seen in a number of the Maestro’s series, the intricately woven canes create a netting texture across the glass. This particular artwork actually features two layers of filigree: Lino created one vessel with “half filigree” canes swirling in one direction, and then stuffed that vessel with another made of canes swirling in the opposite direction. This creates the criss-cross effect seen here. This Positano features exclusively white canes, giving the impression of lace.

02/21/2021

My new favorite color combo! Trautman secret white over black

02/10/2021

Well, after a very, very VERY long hiatus, my Etsy shop is back open! It'll just be small things for the time being, starting with a new line of Goddess pendants. I'll be sticking to lampworking for now, and after a little while, I'll hopefully have time to dip my toes back into Fused glass. It's like riding a bike they said....sure....

https://www.etsy.com//shop/hottaffy

07/31/2019

The term exists in both cultures, but refers to wildly different … technologies.

07/13/2019

“When I say I’m a glassblower, people think I make pipes and bongs,” says Katherine Gray with a laugh. A professor of art at California State University, San Bernadino, Gray is the chief judge on “Blown Away,” a new Netflix reality competition centered around the dramatic, sweaty, creative...

06/19/2019

Glass is about to get its big break! On July 12, Netflix will launch Blown Away, the first-ever competition show featuring glass in the starring role. The groundbreaking 10-episode series will bring the art of glassblowing to millions of people across the world, as the competition pushes the contestants to creative extremes in search of the “Best in Blow.”

For the final episode, Blown Away invited The Corning Museum of Glass onto the set and into the spotlight. As a key consulting partner on the entire series, the Museum not only assisted off-screen, but on-screen, too. Six talented glassmakers from the Museum’s Hot Glass Demo Team assisted the finalists with a multi-part installation that ultimately determined the winner of the series, and the Museum’s senior manager of hot glass programs, Eric Meek, served as the final guest judge.