By Elliot Alpern, Senior Arts Editor
Published April 3, 2012
It’s going to be unhealthy whether you realize it or not.”
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The art of glass blowing
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Aside from glass, other popular pipe materials include acrylic, metal, wood, stone and any combination therein. But, according to Ronayne, glass is the ideal for smoking devices.
“You don’t want to inhale any of those things ... metal, especially,” Ronayne said. “(Glass is best) mainly for health, all the way. And it’s cool as hell — you’re not going to get a spectacular piece out of metal.”
And in using glass, the blowers are able to make use of a material not just for its properties as the healthiest material for smoking, but also for its ability to be a blank canvas, a medium with unlimited artistic potential.
King explained that the creative aspect of working with glass makes those who sculpt with it artists in their own right.
“I think it’s a huge form of artistry — anyone who blows glass is an artist,” King said. “Most of the artists who blow glass, if you know them personally, you can see that in them ... you can see they’re a little eccentric.
“It’s definitely, in my opinion, one of the truest forms of art there is — you have to have that ability inside your mind to be able to create something like glass.”
For some, that creative foundation can lie dormant and make itself known later in life.
“I never thought that I was going to be an artist growing up,” Hoffman said. “But this worked out the best for me. I was a junior at (the University) studying philosophy and ethics, and I started blowing glass. And I realized that I can make a living doing this and read all of the philosophy I want.”
However, though glass blowing may appear to be an easy, fun way to earn a living, it boasts a steep learning curve like any other form of specialized sculpting.
“I watched for, like, three months before I would even touch it, because I was learning,” Ronayne said. “They make it look really easy, but it’s not as easy as it’s made to look. ... The fire’s raging, and if you let the fire take you and you want to be aggressive with it, you’re done.”
But despite its difficulty and the patience required to obtain the right set of skills, blowing glass pipes is a career unlike any other. Like with any form of art, there is no level of perfection for what you can put in to your work.
“I don’t know that I’ll ever achieve that (level), which is great about glass,” Ronayne said. “(With) a lot of jobs you have, you see where your pinnacle will be. With glass, that doesn’t exist. It’s wide open ... it’s endless.”
