That’s some hot glass (about 2100°F)

This week, I’m taking a class at Diablo Glass School. The class is very fun and I’ve made a few things so far. The one pictured below is the paperweight I made.

The process didn’t seem too hard at first but trying it wasn’t very easy. You had to work fast and endure quite a lot of heat coming off the glass.
Process:

1. Get a punty (the rod that the glass is on) and gather some clear molten glass from a large furnace. This is achieved by putting the tip of the punty into the glass and spinning it.
2. Remove the punty from the furnace while spinning it at a constant rate (If this is not done the glass will lean to one side and mess up your work it must be kept turning throughout most of the project).
3. Roll the glass you have collected on a flat metal table called a marver until it becomes a cylinder.
4. Roll the cylinder of glass in one of the colours you have chosen (these colours are made of crushed coloured glass) I chose blue and yellow once you have one of the colours on the glass heat it in a gloryhole which is similar to the furnace but without molten glass in it.
5. After the glass shards melt get some of your other colour and melt this one as well.
6. Now sit down (sitting with glass is a complicated process that must be learned) and using tweezers pull the glass around and just mess with it.
7. Let the glass cool a little then get another gather over the glass you have.
8. Spin the glass around in a block (a wooden tool that has a bowl like end on the handle) until it becomes a circle.
9. Heat the glass again.
10. Sit down again but now pick up a jack (a tweezer like tool but with blades on the end) and press that against the glass a little past the end of the punty softly at first and slowly squeeze harder. A friend can help by holding a piece of wood between your arm and the glass.
11. Take the glass to the knock-off station where you set it on a cushion type thing and then using the back of the tweezers hit the punty slightly above the glass. The glass will fall off the punty on to the cushion.
12. Using a blowtorch heat the bottom of the glass where it was attached to the punty and once it is hot enough push down on it with a flat piece of metal.
13. Now using tongs place the glass in an annealer (kiln) to cool the glass down without breaking it.