Caribbean Surf

This beautiful blown glass vase boasts an elegant amphora silhouette and a speckled surface of turquoise and white glass reminiscent of sea foam.

To create it, the artist first rolls a clear molten bubble of glass through layers of white and turquoise powdered glass the size of table salt. The next step is to blow the bubble into a special mold that has triangular ribs on the inside. The ribbed bubble is heated and lightly twisted to create the vortex spiral. Another layer of molten clear glass is gathered on the bubble, and then it is blown into shape. The final move is to put another metal rod on the bottom and break it off the blowpipe. The bubble is then heated and opened into the vase with rods of graphite and wet newspaper. When finished, the vase is placed into a 950 degree oven to cool slowly overnight.