Art glass is often made into such objects as paperweights, platters, wine stoppers, glass boxes, ornaments and other functional and decorative items. It is also found in sculptures, stemware, perfume vessels, vases and wall art. Glass artists such as Dale Chihuly create larger-scale and more imaginative work than has been seen in recent decades. Chihuly's work is an example of the decorative function of the medium.
Using glass for decorative purposes has been a craft form at least since Theophilus wrote his instructions for craftsmen around 1100 A.D., according to the Art Glass Association. The methods used in making stained glass have not varied significantly over the course of the last millennium. However, craftsmen in the medieval period began painting glass in an effort to de-emphasize the structural lines created by lead using in the process. Contemporary art glass efforts have seen innovative applications for decorative glass, of which the Tiffany lamp is a prime example.
As the Whittemore-Durgin Glass Company notes, before glass is heated and shaped, it is cut to size with a scorer. Cuts, shapes and patterns are fine-tuned with grozing pliers, a handheld tool; or an electric glass grinder, which cuts glass according to a pattern. Glass makers often cut pieces of glass to use as patterns when cutting more pieces to size. Glass not intended to be heated, such as that used in making stained-glass windows and other flat, decorative pieces, is held together with materials such as lead came, zinc came and solder.
Glass blowing is a fine art best learned in a workshop or studio. Glass blowers train extensively to refine their knowledge in a field that requires a high skill level and the ability to work with hot materials and kilns. Interestingly, according to World Art Glass, glass is neither a solid nor a liquid, which may be one reason it requires such practice to handle. Glass blowing refers to the heating of glass to a certain temperature and using a tube to blow air into it. This practice changes the shape of the glass, and blown glass objects can be abstract or realistic.
Louis Comfort Tiffany and John LaFarge were painters who, both seeking to coax the same results from glass, ended up as competitors. While LaFarge copyrighted an opalescent type of glass he developed in 1879, Tiffany is better-known for his lamps and other pieces. Dale Chihuly (see Resources below) is perhaps the best-known contemporary glass artist. His work appears in museums and permanent collections throughout the world, and frequently goes on tours. Other well-known glass artists are Jenny Pohlman and Sabrina Knowles (working as a team), Jon Kuhn, Christopher Ries, Stephen Powell and Dante Marioni-- all are highlighed in the Pismo Fine Art Glass website (see Resources).