In 1291 all the glass makers in Venice were forced to move to Murano due to the risk of fires at a time when Venice was built mostly with wood. The island of Murano, now famous for its glass, lies about 1.5 km north of Venice. The glass makers of Murano held a monopoly on high-quality glassmaking for centuries.
The glass is made from silica, which becomes liquid at high temperatures. The oven is heated to about 2,500° Fahrenheit.
As the glass cools from a liquid to a solid, there is a window of opportunity when the glass is soft before it hardens completely, allowing the artisan to shape it. (click to enlarge)
The finished product –
It took only minutes to produce this horse …
Credit for the first photo goes to our travel buddy Dick W.
Ailsa’s Travel Theme is: Hot
Beyond the Brush 
Almost caught up Lynne – but I had to stop to say hi – your walk through the glass making process was so interesting – I could have spent a week there, watching, trying to understand … I bought some brilliant beads – made by an African who’s been living (and studying glassmaking) in Venice for a decade or so – I liked that they were immediately recognisable as Venetian, but then again, just not … 🙂
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I know you love Venice so happy if I raised a memory. We watched another fellow through an open doorway as he heated a large piece on the end of his pole – he made it into one of the large glass horse heads seen in many of the stores, some of which were selling for 4000 euros.
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Great shot. I wish i could be in a situation to get such a photo. Love your blog too, you have some fantastic photos that are so clean and just fresh to look at.
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So kind, I appreciate tha t- I see you were quite busy 😉 so thank you for taking the time.
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Stunning. I can’t imagine how gratifying it must be to create art like this.
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Done so quickly yet so deftly.
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Amazing glass work! I had to pass up a visit to Murano too… Thanks you Lynne!
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One can spend many days just exploring Venice itself so that’s not surprising. Next time.
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It’s so fascinating to watch the glass-blowing demonstration. The horse seems to be the favourite, as that’s what they did for us. It seemed like such a shame to put it back into the furnace. i would have gladly given it a home. 😀
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Glass art must require a perfect sense of timing, the skill to turn it just so, and the artistic vision for what it can become. Amazing!
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It was quite amazing watching him produce that horse – literally just a few minutes with tongs stretching it into over all shape and then tweaking for curl of tail and position of legs … presto, a horse. Yes, considerable skill – mind you, the particular style of this horse was widely available so I guess they have the stretching and tweaking for this piece down to an art 😉 so to speak.
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Exquisite, I haven’t been there but have watched Dartington glass being made, truly fascinating!
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We found it very interesting to watch their technique.
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I passed up a visit to Murano, when we were in Venice, and I regret it to this day. Your photographs are beautiful.
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There’s always so much to see and do when travelling – somethings just have to be left … til the next time 😉
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Your thought is like a breath of fresh air, and you are so right! Until next time.
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