Have a Blast Blowing Glass at Central Glassworks!
People often ask if we are bored in retirement. While I understand the hesitation of many to retire for fear of not having something to do, I immediately reassure anyone who asks that we are thriving! There are so many experiences out there for the taking and they don’t require exotic travel, great expense, or endless days of planning. All it takes is a bit of digging on the internet, researching the world around us, then inviting a few of your friends, and trying something new!
On a beautiful, warm, perfect Pacific Northwest day, a few of our retiree friends gathered at Central Glassworks in Centralia, Washington for a unique experience. The six of us had met through the local photography club and have become great friends, rotating luncheons between our houses at least once per month. We are an eclectic group drawn together with our passion for creating things ranging from photography, videography to chain saw carving, crafts, and great food! Our gatherings are always full of joy and laughter with a few practical jokes tossed in to keep us on our toes and young at heart, so when you lob hot, molten glass into our mix - I anticipated a new level of entertainment was about to happen!
After we descended on the studio and were warmly welcomed by the friendly staff, we settled in for our private glassblowing experience.
Our group worked one on one with the artisans at the hotshop to create our chosen works of art. I’m not sure which was more fun, participating in the glassblowing or watching from the sidelines - but either experience was super entertaining! It was clear the skilled glass artisans were truly passionate about their craft, our lead technician has been blowing glass since he was 13! Speaking of age…
Glassblowing is one of the oldest and most unique forms of art, dating back to the Roman Empire! The craft entails a beautiful dance between the hot, viscous liquid glass and use of gravity and a variety of medieval looking tools to manipulate the fast cooling material into works of art. It was fun to learn the tools of the trade and watching the artisans dip the blowpipes into the furnace reminded me of dipping your knife into warmed honey to slather on morning toast. You have to keep moving or it goes everywhere!
If you go with a group, I recommend each choose to make a different glass object, that way you can have maximum exposure to the varied techniques and equipment needed. Soon you’ll be spouting terms such as punty, marver, shears, block, jack, and annealing oven to name just a few.
Aaron chose to make a heart and a whiskey glass in classic Whatdoin? colors of red and black - they both turned out really cool! It is without a doubt you will enjoy your glassblowing experience at Central Glassworks! It’s the perfect adventure for everyone! Check out our video below!
