Top: Multicoloured paperweight. Middle: Orange leopard vase. Bottom: Blue swirl paperweight.
Blowing is probably the single skill that most people associate with glass and it’s hard not to have respect for the blowers. More than any other means of working with glass, blowing mixes the artistic with the theatrical in a kind of glass ballet. These are the superstars of glass, idolised by their studios.
But that theatre carries a price. Glassblowing is dangerous. Working with hot glass and tools carries risk and, with the best will in the world, is not a place for the handicapped (such as myself).
More than with any other discipline, blowing has a risk of serious injury. In this arena more than any other, it is important to know your limitations and not try to push beyond them. I know mine and I no longer blow.