How do you know if your glass is 2000 F?
THere’s nothing quite like heating glass.
Heating glass is a fundamental aspect of glassblowing yet the hardest to understand. This exercise was about figuring out the best way to convey this abstract concept for beginners.
Exploring different mental models of heating and shaping glass
Expert sketches
Spending time talking with an experienced glassbower and watching them sketch the heating process helping me understand existing mental models of heating glass.
Getting Technical
This is an example of a technical graph that experienced glassblowers use for reference. It shows exact temperatures across making a cup depending on colored glass application.
Hot Shop Lectures
In a glassblowing class, instructors will draw with chalk on the floor as they teach a specific concept. Then, students go give it a whirl!
Focusing on Glow and Viscosity
2 of the key indicators of glass temperature are how the glass looks and moves.
Focusing on this aspect helps glassblowers compare how glass behaves to other materials they may encounter in a typical day.
Making the diagram
Movable chalkboards near the glory hole (where glass is heated)
Glassblower shares the steps of making a goblet
Glassblowing expert sketches mental model of heating over time
Testing out the diagram!
informational section of the diagram showing steps of making a cylinder, highlighting heating steps.
Sample print in the hot shop
Close up of the challenging point in the cylinder process
The high level model of temperature, viscosity and glow
