Glass Act

Sorry for the pun. I’m not the first one who’s made it, and I won’t be the last. I’m talking today about Zimmerman Art Glass in Corydon, Indiana. Here’s their sign.ZimSignIt’s a family business, and always has been. I dropped by the other day, and was lucky enough to see a piece in progress.

ZimBitsFirst, the guy sprinkled out some colored glass. The main part of this piece was going to be clear, with some colorful bits in it.

ZimGloryThen he got the clear glass on the end of a long metal pipe. The clear glass is kept molten (melted) in a super-hot oven. The door is called the glory hole. See why?

ZimGrabBitsHe picked up the colorful bits with the molten glass.

ZimRollWhen he had all the bits stuck on, he sat down and rolled the pipe back and forth across the wooden arms of the seat. That keeps the glass more-or-less symmetrical as it cools. “Cools.” After it stops glowing, it’s still too hot to touch!

This is as far as I got before I had to leave. He may have stuck it back in the glory hole to heat it up some more. He would have rolled it some more and shaped it with hand tools. He might have smoothed it or pinched it or poked holes in it and put more colorful bits in.

ZimTaDaIt might have looked like one of the pieces on this Zimmerman page on eBay. Gorgeous? You bet!

A WRITING PROMPT FOR YOU: What would your main character have the Zimmermans make for him or her, if money were no object?

MA

About

I was born in Louisville, Kentucky, but now live in the woods in southern Indiana. Though I only write fiction, I love to read non-fiction. The more I learn about this world, the more fantastic I see it is.

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One thought on “Glass Act

    • Author

      Marian Allen

      March 28, 2013 at 8:24am

      They sure do. Did you get a chance to go to the Zimmerman exhibit at the Artisan Center? Wow!

      Permalink  ⋅ Reply
  1. Mike Carlson

    March 30, 2013 at 11:50am

    That was quite a lot of work for a single item huh. But totally worth it anyway.

    Permalink  ⋅ Reply
    • Author

      Marian Allen

      March 30, 2013 at 2:03pm

      Oh, they do beautiful work! Our church replaced some stained glass windows and gave the pieces to Zimmerman’s and now we can get paperweights and stuff made out of that glass for keepsakes.

      Permalink  ⋅ Reply

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