Support Your Local Glass Artists!

Author: Ninja "The Bong Collector"

I’ll say it again:  “Support your local glass artist.”

There’s a lot more to that statement than simply its face value.

Much of the glass art available in shops in the U.S. falls into the category of production glass.

Production pieces are simple pieces with little artwork or color and are quickly and easily made in bulk.

Usually these pieces have basic fuming or some outside wrap and rake work, but their sole base of being is to perform, and to sell cheaply.

These pieces are a shop’s bread and butter, and you can find low priced production bubblers and dry pieces in every shop in the world.

While these pieces have their place, the old adage “you get what you pay for” applies to glass.

Most production glass is imported from overseas, where production costs are low, and they can be made much cheaper than in the US.

The problem with this scenario is that when labor costs are reduced that low, quality suffers.

Not only the quality of the glass used, which is usually cheap Chinese made glass, but even the basic processes that make a smoking glass piece are eliminated or bypassed.

To save time and cost, many pieces aren’t properly annealed.

Annealing is one of the most important processes in making a sm0king glass piece.

When a glass piece is made on the torch, the glass is unevenly heated from the melting and forming process, and if cooled unevenly, causes tension and stress within the glass itself.

 Glass must be placed in a kiln, or oven, (as shown to the right) and slowly “soaked” in heat to even the temperature through out the entire piece, and slowly “ramped” down in temperature until it is cool.

This removes stress from the piece and makes the integrity of the glass very strong and stable.

Properly annealed borosilicate glass pieces can easily move between cooler temps and smoking temps with no cracking or problems.

Pieces that are not properly annealed risks having one crack during use.

These pieces can crack violently as well, shattering with a loud “pop” and possibly injuring the user.

While quality or work is always subject to opinion, the industry standard accepted by US glassblowers is incredibly high.

Imported production glass holds very little value to collectors.

Many imported glassblowing houses make pieces by the thousands, in sweatshop type facilities, paying horribly low wages to workers who labor over the torches.

This is not an article bashing glass work from outside the US.

Some of the finest smoking glass tubes are built in Germany, and most of the elaborate glass art techniques stem from the Italian masters.

This is an article reminding collectors to pay attention to where, and by whom, the piece was made.

And this is an article reminding collectors that the leading artists in the smoking glass art scene aren’t hidden away in some far away land.

They are in your very own back yard.

Today’s smoking glass artists are shaping the entire glass art scene.

The quality is high and the artwork is cutting edge.

Get to know your local glass artists wherever you live.

Ask questions about their work as a serious collector would, and most will be happy to address any concerns you may have.

Get to know them if you get the chance, support them, and thank them.

Ask your local shops to stop stocking imported, unsafe pieces, and to step up and stock quality glass.

Buying locally made glass not only assures you that you are getting a quality piece but also shows your support of glass artists who care about their craft, and who work hard to bring you the best glass art possible.

When we ask you to support your local glass artist, it’s not just a slogan.

Many times, when buying smoking glass art, you really do get what you pay for.