Vetro Glass Blowing

Our little home school co-op goes on alot of field trips... but this one takes the cake as BY FAR the coolest one we've been on all year.  We visited the Vetro Glass Blowing Studio (http://vetroartglass.com/) in downtown Grapevine which is owned by our friends and fellow homeschooling family, the Gappa's.  David and his apprentice's were so great with the kids (and adults too!) explaining what all the equipment was, how it works, what they were doing with the molten glass, and so forth.  We got to learn how the glass comes to them, see the clear glass inside the 2000 degree plus furnace, how they blow it, layer it, add color, shape it, and eventually turn it into a piece of art.  You could hear "oohs" and "ahhs" all around as he and his apprentices blew the glass, turned it, molded it into various shapes, applied some serious fire, and eventually into a beautiful plate that was being mounted above a local homeowners fireplace (that lucky dog!).  Enough with the talking- check it out:

David on the right talking with the apprentice

David explaining the color he just added

David is shaping the piece as the apprentice is carefully blowing it

What started as a small ball of glass is now a beautiful plate-
watching this part was really cool!

That's a massive blow torch!

After the piece was done, the kids got a close up look and feel of the 2000 + degree furnace

A happy audience!

We're excited!

Jake after the presentation

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