Hard rock music from a local college radio station
bounces off the cool, concrete walls of glassblower Chris Heilman's studio.
A hot, pliable gather of glass on the end of a five-foot-long stainless-steel
blowpipe is spun, swung and rolled to the beat of the music as Heilman
spins, swings and rocks with it.
While this gather is still hot - but not too hot - the blowpipe is placed
upright in a holder and Heilman details the clear glass with thin rods
of colored glass - glass cane - which are melted with a blowtorch in a
process known as torchwork decorating.
After many reheating and detailing sessions, another layer of clear
glass is applied from an urn of melted glass in a separate oven. More detailing,
more layers perhaps, and the glob of glass approaches its status as a one-of-a-kind
work of art selling for hundreds - or thousands - of dollars.
The last time a glassblower set up operation in the city was around
1870. This was about 20 years before the first phonograph machines were
commercially widespread, which makes me wonder what Heilman would have
done back then to keep his sanity during the hours-long process...
Heilman is among only a handful of people worldwide who have mastered
some of the centuries-old techniques of the art. His works are in permanent
collections at the Portland Museum of Art and the Museum of American Glass
in Millville, New Jersey, among others. In 1991, a piece from his Coral
Reef Series was presented as the Spirit and Enrichment Award to the late
deep-sea diving expeditioner, Jacques Cousteau.
