Blown bottled love
. . . Did they dip a core of clay and animal dung into a pot of molten glass, let it cool and then chip the core out, leaving the centre hollow as the Mesopotamians did when creating the earliest perfume bottles? No, instead they focused on blowing the glass, but ancient times remained close at hand. You see, sometime in the first century BC, Syrian craftsmen invented the blow pipe, transforming the creation of glass vessels large and small. While metal has replaced the original clay material, the pipe remains intrinsic to the process of blowing air into molten glass.
That day in the studio, Hayden and Taygan were free-blowing (rather than mold-blowing) the shape to life . . . a centuries-old dance involving gathering molten glass, reheating, using their breath along with wood and metal tools to shape the piece. The process was repeated until it was time for the brilliant gold-ruby bottle with its simple, clean lines to cool in the annealer. Throughout the afternoon, a whiff of burning paper floated throughout the studio. It stemmed from the wet folded newspaper that, at times, was the only thing between their hand and the molten glass. For glass artists, that’s always a welcome scent of work underway.
They made several bottles that day, sharing ideas and expertise. Looking at the pieces, Hayden chose to battuto two separate styles. That’s the name of the old Venetian technique describing the indents or beaten metal appearance you see on the bottle. It involves a lathe as well as skill, patience and time to make each strike and the overall pattern.
What started as a glimmer of an idea is now a lovely first, part of a limited collection, whose future is already unfolding. The series, currently at our gallery, joins its elegant predecessor. Any would make a beautiful Valentine’s Day gift or treasure for any time or any reason. Whether it’s to hold a personalized scent, or sit as a beautiful jewel as perfume bottles do, is up to you. Visit the studio or instagram to discover the various options. Since they are all free-blown, each is truly unique. Ranging in price from $180 to $250, they are available for purchase and pre-order.
Watching these art-deco-inspired perfume bottles come to life brings Marc Chagall’s words to mind: “If I create from the heart nearly everything works, if from the head almost nothing.” Hayden and Taygan, respectively fascapple glass co-founder and artist-in-residence, clearly used their hearts to create our treasures of time.
Likewise, watching students at our glassblowing workshops is seeing people step back in time to their joy and amazement. The memories and tangible treasures they create are always wonderful to behold. Come, try glassblowing, and travel far away, right here at fascapple glass.
From all of us at fascapple glass, thank you for your interest.