Jane Charles’ inspiration from the forms, textures and moods of the natural world leads her to create this beautiful line of hot blown glass art in an array of shapes, colours and finishes.
Glass blowing is a glass forming technique that humans have used to shape glass since the 1st century B.C. The technique consists of gathering molten glass from the furnace on a blow pipe and then inflating and shaping the material . The only molten glass in the furnace is clear so colours are added by way of glass powders, grits and rod that can then be shaped using a selection of metal tools that are extensions of the hand . The piece has to be repeatedly reheated in a glory hole which is a high temperature open oven to keep it malleable. Once the piece is formed it is placed in an annealing oven which is a temperature controlled environment where the work can slowly cool down and take the stresses out of the material to stop it shattering. Studio Glass came to Britain from the states in the mid 70s and like Studio Pottery the emphasis was about creating art works and getting away from factory mass production.
