How are made glass drinking glasses, vases or objects ? The answer is given when we visited the Mauritius Glass Gallery in December 2014.
It is since 1997 that some Mauritian artisan mold, squeeze and stretch hot red glass pieces of paste, to perpetuate an art old of more than 2 millenniums.
Modern tools like gas oven and blowtorches are very helpful nowadays.
In fact, at the Mauritius Glass Gallery, only recycled glass is used. But the molding process remains the same.
The ground pieces of glass have to be heathen in a nearly 1200°C oven first. At this heat the pieces turn into a single molten drop called gather.
This molten drop can be sealed to some high-tempered other glass.
And can also be cut
Tools like pliers help to stretch and give a shape.
Many shapes can be designed...
...like this glass palm tree
After a last heating, you get the definitive shape of the object, turned in a piece of art (from heart)
The blowing technique : first a long round shape is given to the gather with a towel !
Then the gather is spooled at the end of a blowpipe, so as to be slowly blown as well.
Once blown, a mold can help to keep the form
And as the glass is still soft, other designs can be inlayed in it
Nearly last steps...
...before the presentation on the stalls
But many other creative objects are sold here.
Do not hesitate if you are in the area :
The Mauritius Glass Gallery
Pont-Fer
Phoenix
Mauritius
+230 696 3360
RSS website