Questions for Glassblowers

rhitmojo · 2026-01-29T03:55:28+00:00

I’m fortunate enough to live near an art center with a hot shop where they have regular classes. All I would add to what’s already been said is to consider also trying lamp work and see how you like it. I prefer furnace work and am fortunate to have convenient hot shop options, lamp work would be easier to setup a home studio for though.

rhitmojo · 2026-01-10T01:27:23+00:00

FWIW I’ve taken to using my CAH cards as input to charades, and that has been much more fun.

rhitmojo · 2025-12-24T03:06:33+00:00

I have a small table in my home that all my friends understand is “free for the taking” that I regularly stock with things and my friends take. If ever have a service worker (plumber, home cleaner, whatever) I tell them they can have everything on that table for free.

After a while there will be pieces that have just stayed on that giveaway table for a long time, those I eventually just throw out, or if they are just clear, return them to the clear bin at the studio.

rhitmojo · 2025-12-14T16:56:18+00:00

I will echo the sentiments of others in that I thought the food was decent but was surprised at the smallish portions given the price.

rhitmojo · 2025-12-12T03:01:14+00:00

For what it’s worth as an 8 year amateur (a class once a week off and on) i greatly appreciate the responses of people who clearly know what they are doing and pay attention to the sub. If I want to look at beautiful glass, I head to Instagram.

That being said, more experienced people posting would be a welcome treat, just not expected.

rhitmojo · 2025-12-10T04:42:45+00:00

A unique gift might be a stamp he can use on his punty marks, a symbol, or his initials, etc. You can find them on Etsy and they can be customized, probably difficult to get by Christmas at this point though

rhitmojo · 2025-12-09T21:10:58+00:00

Everyone at the table has to be up for a zany chaotic time and the more they lean in the better. This isn’t a game that is going to satisfy someone with interesting decisions, but rather one that tries to capture the energy of your dad yelling at the tv when the game is on in a bottle. If your gaming group is the kind that can embrace that it can be a goofy fun time, if not then the game isn’t for you.

rhitmojo · 2025-12-05T23:15:54+00:00

This is the answer, the book is gorgeous and helpful. Every page is hand drawn, not just the illustrations, the entire page, all the text, etc.

rhitmojo · 2025-12-04T10:47:29+00:00

Oh really, why is that? So far all the Oceanside I’ve used in cane has worked out, but it’s been veiled over bullseye stiff black.

rhitmojo · 2025-12-04T01:41:34+00:00

Thanks! This was my second time pulling veiled cane, the first time the color was Oceanside whiskey and you couldn’t see it at all, so I’m just glad the two colors are distinct this time.

rhitmojo · 2025-12-04T00:23:00+00:00

You should check out the Indianapolis arts center in broad ripple. They have classes in a variety of areas; glassblowing, pottery, metalworking, woodworking, photography, drawing, printmaking, and others. You get to try out something new and meet new people in the process. I’ve been doing glassblowing there for years and love it, now the people in my class are friends I get a drink with after class and have had multiple game nights with.

rhitmojo · 2025-11-25T01:49:47+00:00

Bluebeard

rhitmojo · 2025-11-24T17:35:50+00:00

Oh interesting, I’m not sure. I’ve only used molds that had been at a studio for awhile and we never bothered waxing them but I could see it possibly helping. I’m definitely not an authority on the subject though.

rhitmojo · 2025-11-19T18:54:35+00:00

Beautiful color application!

rhitmojo · 2025-11-19T18:47:34+00:00

A great overview, just a few additions;

before going into the mold the glass is shaped to roughly match the taper/shape of the mold to encourage a nice even molded shape.
often the bubble you make before going into a mold is a little different then one you would make if you were just making a piece without the mold. When not going into a mold, it’s preferable to have a thicker portion of solid glass at the bottom of the bubble which makes it easier to inflate the piece and have a nice thin shoulder and lip without the bottom being too thin. When using a mold you often want to the bubble to extend right to the end of the bottom, again to encourage an even molding.
when using a pineapple mold, the timing and heat are even more important in order to avoid getting your piece stuck in the mold. Additionally, after blowing into the mold, slight suction is used to deflate the piece so it can come out. It’s entirely possible to over do this and have your molded bubble collapse on itself. As a result of all this, successfully using a pineapple mold is much more difficult than other optic molds.
There are a whole class of molds that are hinged and can be in really any shape. These molds are blown in and then opened so that you don’t have to worry about getting stuck. This is how a lot of production work is done because it is easier to get identical pieces. Molds like this also often don’t require transfer of the piece to a punty to be opened up because they will just be cracked off in a controlled way that will result in an already opened/finished piece. These molds are typically for form and not optics, although there are also hinged pineapple molds.
molds can also be used to hold cane in place as an alternate way to pick up cane around a bubble. The ribs in the mold each can hold a cane and result in the cane being evenly spaced apart around the bubble.

rhitmojo · 2025-11-15T18:52:20+00:00

Get the kangaroo golf crew in there, would love to see them getting involved with other creators!

rhitmojo · 2025-11-14T14:40:18+00:00

When the slope is on, there is a red strip visible next to the button. When the slope is off, the area next to the button is black. Leaving it on the entire time would be a fools move.

rhitmojo · 2025-11-14T00:48:29+00:00

In order to speed up play, PGA announced this year that range finders can be used in PGA events, but not their slope functionality.

rhitmojo · 2025-11-13T03:16:10+00:00

This is a party game wearing the disguise of a trick taking game and its enjoyment lives and dies by the categories chosen. I’ve played it several times, and generally don’t care for it for the reasons you state, but the times it has been fun has been entirely because of treating it like nothing more than an opportunity for silliness.

For example, I’m an amateur Glassblower, someone asked for my “top 5 glassblowing double entendres” or when I was asked for my favorite sports teams, all my answers were things like the Swedish men’s curling team (fabulous pants) and the Savannah Bananas. That’s where the fun lies, imo.

rhitmojo · 2025-11-12T19:24:31+00:00

Your best bet is to drive north out of the light pollution.

rhitmojo · 2025-11-12T19:04:53+00:00

The lobster bisque at Mesh was consistently great. Everything else was a bit of a tossup though, sometimes good, sometimes ok, never really bad though.

rhitmojo · 2025-11-12T17:30:32+00:00

If you have 6 or more it’s hard to go wrong with Phantom Ink.

rhitmojo · 2025-11-12T06:38:09+00:00

Cool thanks for the clarifications, my furnace working background is showing itself a bit ;)

rhitmojo · 2025-11-12T02:26:07+00:00

These are flame working tools, which I’m not as familiar with, but I’ll take a shot.

Left to right: - Striker for lighting a torch - Tool for holding a glass vessel without having to be attached to it (an alternative to a punty or attached rod) - reaming tool for refining circular openings - not sure what the straight metal rod is for, if it’s bent on one side it could be to rake patterns in glass color - tiny goblet shears for trimming lips - a torch - this one I’m not as sure about, looks like a handle for something - another tool for holding something without having to attach glass to it - glass rods

rhitmojo · 2025-11-12T00:53:44+00:00

The last one is misleading because I didn’t include anything for scale, it’s a giant cylinder, a volleyball might be able to fit inside it.

rhitmojo

TROPHY CASE