All About Glass

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All About Glass

This is your resource for exploring various topics in glass: delve deeper  with this collection of articles, multimedia, and virtual books all about glass. Content is frequently added to the area, so check back for new items. If you have a topic you'd like to see covered, send us your suggestion. If you have a specific question, Ask a Librarian at our Rakow Research Library.

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All About Glass

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Heat Sensitive Glass
Video

Glass that gradually shades from one color to another has ingredients such as uranium and gold, which are sensitive to heat. When part of the object is reheated, it "strikes" or changes color. Heat-sensitive glass became very popular in the late 19th century. Many companies used heat

Reticello
Video

Watch as William Gudenrath demonstrates the Reticello technique. Reticello (Italian, "glass with a small network"), is a type of blown glass made with canes organized in a crisscross pattern to form a fine net, which may contain tiny air traps.

Sicilian Glass
Video

In the second half of the 19th century, many glass firms used experimental techniques to create decorative art glass. In 1878, the Mt. Washington glass company introduced Sicilian glass. As part of their marketing, the company claimed to have used lava, that is, molten rock spewed out by volcanoes,

Twist Glass
Video

In the 1930s, the Pairpoint Glass Corporation introduced a bold new design called "twist glass," consisting of swirled stripes of ruby or deep blue glass and clear crystal. The complicated technique, already used in Sweden, required many stages including cold working. Watch as William

Bubble Ball Paperweight
Video

Glass makers throughout history have gone to great lengths to eliminate all bubbles from glass. But here, we see bubbles purposefully put into the glass for their decorative effect. In this paperweight, the bubbles surround another gather of glass with twisted canes of colored glass. Watch as

Lifebuoy decanter
Video

Glassworkers made ring-shaped decanters as early as the Roman period. Due to their novel shape, much like buoys, the personal flotation devices carried on ships, decanters in the early 20th century were called "lifebuoy decanters." Watch as William Gudenrath demonstrates the technique.

Studio Demonstrations: Erica Rosenfeld & Leo Tecosky
Video

Watch Erica Rosenfeld & Leo Tecosky demonstrate for their Studio course, Cross Pollination, which will focus on combining hot, warm, and cold techniques to c...

Studio Demonstration: Lino Tagliapietra (Demo Two)
Video

Many American studio glass artists turned to the traditional glassworking centers of Venice, central Europe, and Scandinavia for inspiration and knowledge. L...

Studio Demonstration: Lino Tagliapietra (Demo One)
Video

Many American studio glass artists turned to the traditional glassworking centers of Venice, central Europe, and Scandinavia for inspiration and knowledge. L...

Artist-in-Residence: Ingalena Klenell
Video

Swedish artist Ingalena Klenell has been working with glass since 1976. Her work explores the ideas of fragility and vulnerability, both in the material of g...

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