Eric Kvarnes 
Hi! -I'm Eric and I'm a Glassblower
in Sperryville Virginia, USA.
I blow glass. That's my job. I run
2000 degree F. Glass furnaces filled with molten glass 24 hours
a day. I do old style blowpipe glassblowing where the blowpipe
is dipped into molten glass the consistency of honey. At that
temprature the glass glows bright yellow. By turning the pipe
I balance the glass and keep it from dripping off.
I shape the glass by rolling it on
a metal table, called the marver, or by shaping it with wooden
"blocks" The blocks are a cup shaped tool cut from cherry
or apple wood that is soaked in water and they are used to shape
much the same way a potter shapes clay with his hands. (It highly
advisable to shape 2000 degree glass with things other than your
hands.)
With shaped hot glass on the pipe I
raise it into the air and blow into the blowpipe to blow a small
bubble. Once it cools, I repeat the process until 2 or 3 layers
of glass, enough to make a vase, bowl, or whatever, are on the
pipe. Then I blow and shape the glass, reheating often because
it cools in 30 seconds or so. Halfway through the piece I transfer
it to a punty rod by attaching it to the bottom of the piece with
a little bit of hot glass. This allows me to work on the other
end, the neck of a vase, or lip of a bowl for instance. After
I finish the final shaping, the glass is cooled very slowly for
12 hours in an oven called the annealer. I inspect each piece
personally, and sign my name and the date on the bottom once it's
approved for sale.
A couple of examples of my blown glass.
Early in my career as a glassblower
I discovered how interested people were in watching glassblowing
being done, and this led to 20 years of hauling portable glass
furnaces and related equipment to craft shows all over the East
coast. People were very curious and wanted me to tell them everything
I could about glass . Before long I had to get a microphone.
Over the years, sales at craft shows
started dropping off as promoters made shows ever larger, and
the money was spread thinner. I was also frustrated by not having
the my whole studio to show people the really cool things . You
just can't bring everything to a craft show. If I built an art
center, people could see the whole story.
That's how Oldway Art Center started.
For more of the Oldway story see the Oldway
History page.
Oldway
- Oldway
History - Glassworks
Gallery
Glassblowing Classes Glass Studio Calendar Bead Classes
Oldway Artists (with pages)
Mike Doyle Ironworks Eric Kvarnes- Glassblowing
Christina
Kvarnes - Glass Beads and Classes
Monika Fischer -Ceramic Arts (Page Coming Soon)
Rude
Rock Family -Recording Studio
Dojo Productions -Recording
Studio
Ragged Mountain Resource Center -Our
local ecology group
Local Links: Click here for local
info and a great view of the area!
Oldway Associate Artists
Charles
"Flick" Flickinger - Sculpture
To E-Mail Oldway: Click
Here
Seems the Governor of Virginia has
heard of me too. I received this in early November of '99
