Rant: People keep calling it 'glass blowing' when they mean 'flameworking'

I see it all the time online, even from folks selling their work. They'll post a detailed bead or small sculpture and say they 'blew' it. That's not how it's made. Flameworking uses a torch and rods, not a furnace and a blowpipe. I learned the hard way at a studio in Asheville when I signed up for the wrong class. It matters because it confuses new people about the tools and skills they actually need. How do you guys explain the difference without sounding like a jerk?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_oliver4d ago

Ever tried to explain the difference between a car and a motorcycle to someone who just calls them both vrooms? I usually say flameworking is like drawing with a really hot pen, and glassblowing is like trying to inflate a giant, angry bubble. If they still don't get it, I tell them to try blowing into a solid rod of glass and see how that goes.

sanchez.sean4d ago

My buddy tried explaining it to his kid once, said flameworking was like making tiny glass animals with a torch. Kid just asked if he could make a glass dinosaur that shoots real fire.