World of Glass, St. Helen's

We had the opportunity in November to go glass-blowing at the World of Glass in St. Helen's, and I immediately put my name down as it had been something I had wanted to do since starting the course. We had a fantastic day, taught by some of the best glass-blowers in the country as well as watching them practice what they preached doing demonstrations to the public. During the day I made a paperweight which I absolutely love, all greens and bubbles swirled round together.




I also made a marble and had a go at sand-casting (carving a design into wet sand and pouring molten glass over it). As we had not actually had the chance to blow any glass, at the end of the day they let us have a taste of what it was like and how thin the glass can get. So they gathered glass for us and told us to blow as hard as we could...

This was the bubble I managed to blow, and seconds after the photo was taken it exploded because of the immense pressure inside. The glass was so thin it was extremely flexible and just felt like plastic packaging. Can't wait to go back and do some more! :)