The magic of glassblowing
I’ve always been fascinated by glassblowing. The way that molten glass flows and oozes, the way a piece slowly takes shape. All this beauty and delicacy created out of what starts as a misshapen lump.
That’s why I was excited to find out that you can go and watch glassblowing in Southwark. The workshop at London Glassblowing is open every day in the week from 10 to 5 – though there’s no blowing from 1 till 2 in the afternoon, when the craftspeople knock off for lunch. There’s no charge, though it’s suggested you might want to make a donation to Crisis – the charity for homeless people.
The Gallery next door shows glass by Peter Layton and his team. Some of the glass is purely decorative, but Peter Layton has developed the form to create larger art works – “Strange fruit” is a particularly interesting piece, with fruit that are split open and look like human hearts – suggesting a meditation on the meaning of life and the passions that drive us.
The workshop also offers you the chance to learn how to blow glass yourself. It’s not cheap, at £250 a day, but for this you get a full day at work, with only two students for each teacher – guaranteeing individual attention.
Watch out for the open weekend sale from March 28th to 30th. The weekend will also include ‘make your own paperweight’ sessions.
London Glassblowing, 7 The Leather Market, Weston Street SE1 (London Bridge station).
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