Glass

This blip is just before removal from the temporary plug.

I stopped by the glass blower's studio in Spanish Village today. Both her students couldn't make it to their classes today so she was creating more pieces for sale. I watched her twirling the molten CLEAR glass in the furnace, bring it out and roll it in the colored glass crumb fragments, put it back into the reheating furnace (2200 degrees F - 1093 degrees C) until properly melted, bring it out, then roll it into WHITE glass fragments (this step was done twice) so there would be a background for the next roll into colored fragments to show up against the clear.
You can't let the glass cool down too much as it is slowly shaped so it keeps getting re-heated several times. Finally she had it to the length she wanted, she then attached a second metal rod with a small PLUG of clear glass (for the shaping) to the bottom, cut the glass from the melting rod.
Re-heated many more times as she slowly widened the vase opening with a slab of wood! Yes! Wood! Of course the wood catches on fire, you see the flames, then it goes out, there's some smoke then it's back into the reheating furnace, repeat more times widening the opening using a long metal forceps/tweezers tool; then use a large flat file tool to make the bottom level, and finally pry the temporary plug from the bottom. Wearing kevlar gloves (ASBESTOS aren't allowed anymore!) the vase gets put in the ANNEALER to cool down (The temp in his "oven" is ONLY 1000 degrees F - 538 degrees C) for six hours (to set) then the temp is gradually lowered during the night. The next morning they can remove the pieces as they are now to room temperature.