Unique Art Glass Decor

What Is Art Glass?

Art glass pieces are works created from glass by individual artists. Antique glass art pieces may have been created in factories, but these were usually hand-designed, not done by machine, so they maintain an individual aspect to their creation. These frequently brightly-colored pieces are most often glass-blown though other methods including sandblasting, casting and fusing glass and pattern-molding glass are also used. Prized mainly for their artistic and decorative appeal, some art glass pieces serve functional purposes as bowls, vases, lamps. Many vintage and antique art glass works originally created to be used for some purpose are now considered strictly art pieces by their owners and other artists.

Art Glass History

Art glass has been created in some form for hundreds of years. It has only been recently however, that modern art glass has grown in popularity here in the United States. Beginning in the 1960s and 1970s, art glass became increasingly popular and eventually spread to other areas around the world.

Glassblowing is the process of heating glass and then blowing it out into the desired shape using a specially designed tube. Some of the most unusual and individualistic abstract glass art pieces are created using glassblowing. The process requires both training and significant practice to develop the proper techniques for handling the glass. A high degree of skills is absolutely essential in this process.

Glassblowing is used by more studio glass artists than any other method for creating beautiful works of art from glass. Glass blown pieces are created entirely by hand, at the whim of the artist. This allows for a wide range of shapes and features. Colors are included in several different ways to provide various effects. For example, clear glass can be rolled in colored glass powder or caneworking can be used to add strips of colored glass in specific patterns to glass art works.

Stained glass often brings to mind church windows, but stained glass has become a popular type of art glass for the home as well. Stained glass pieces may be hung in windows, sidelights or created to fit specific windows of the home. Stained glass varies in its art, from those pieces showing realistic pictures to abstract works.

Highly detailed, large pieces or those with particularly difficult elements to them require the work of a highly skilled stained glass maker. However, many people enjoy trying their hand at this art form by enrolling in stained glass making classes at local shops or community colleges. Amateur stained glass artists can make quite beautiful work with a little training and practice. Moreover, many people greatly enjoy both the process and the fact that they can use their finished pieces to decorate their own home or give away as gifts to friends and family members. Still others find that they can make a respectable part-time income selling stained glass pieces, though limited access to necessary and expensive machinery keeps most people from considering this as a business venture.

Though many pieces of breathtaking art glass exist, only some of those are actually functional, serving some other purpose in addition to being viable artistic pieces. Examples abound and include perfume bottles, ashtrays, glassware, vases, paperweights and ring holders. Antique and vintage pieces, originally intended to be used for everyday purposes, have now become pieces of art in their own right. Many people purchase such items and display them only as art. However, there is nothing that says you must not use these in their original intended manner, and a growing number of people are coming to understand the benefits of these items as they beautify the home and provide usefulness. Some of the best pieces are actually the smallest, as they add a sense of beauty without becoming the centerpiece of a room.