Definition: Blowing

The glassmaker perfects the hammering, then raises his cane, like a trumpet player, and blows. An air bubble pierces the orifice and forms a "pocket" similar to a small bulb inside the glass blank. The bubble grows, but its expansion is counteracted by gravity. The art of blowing glass meets universal cosmology. By positioning his rod horizontally, obliquely or vertically, the glassblower shapes the bulb as he sees fit: spherical, oval or cylindrical. By swinging it like a pendulum or spinning it rapidly, he uses centrifugal force to create different shapes. See glassblowing, glass gob, hammering, shaping.