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Gorgeous glass ornaments glisten
in the window of a Venetian boutique.
Photo courtesy of Luxe Publishing.

During the Middle Ages, Venice became a central hub for the
fine art using the traditional Roman mold-blowing technique. This
entailed taking a bubble of molten glass from a furnace and lowering
it into a terracotta mold lined with soot (to prevent the glass from
sticking to the interior). After blowing the glass to fill the mold and
removing it, the glassmaker would gently and quickly shape the
vessel (including the mouth and handles) using a wooden tool.
Simple pieces usually only required one mold, whereas beautifully
shaped, curved vessels with a base, body and neck required multiple
ones and a more complicated assembly process.
Another ancient technique included free-blowing, wherein an
artist would create distinct shapes from a bubble of molten glass
using a blowpipe. Skilled artisans have since honed their craft by
developing meticulous breathing styles in conjunction with using
various palettes of light and color.
Due to fire concerns — which were justified in the densely
populated city of Venice — the Venetian government later
transferred any glassmaking furnaces to Murano in the early 1920s.
Migrating the industry to the less-populated island resulted in a
double win: Glassmakers could then also protect their prized
minimalist techniques from the spying eyes of competitors. A Masterful Mind Shares the Craft
Both glassblowing methods remain very much in use
today, with secrets of the process often being passed down A dedicated art student, Dale Chihuly discovered glassblowing
through generations, resulting in some of the world’s most by accident. In 1965, he was doing undergraduate work in interior
beloved works of art. While variations of the practice design, melted some stained glass for a project, and blew his first
emerged over the centuries, little has changed in the glass bubble.
spirit of the techniques. “I don’t know why I did it. I’d never seen it done. I didn’t know
Today, Venetian glass occupies special spaces in anybody who knew how to blow glass,” Chihuly said in a 1982
the hearts of decorators and collectors around the interview with Arizona Arts & Lifestyle magazine. “I very
globe, in the form of vibrant glass chandeliers, systematically made a pipe and melted a piece of stained glass
sculptures and vases that seem to defy the laws between five bricks that constituted a ceramics kiln. I put some of
of light. the melted glass on the end of the pipe, blew air into it, and the
glass bubble sort of accidentally blew up. It probably
shouldn’t have.”
Chihuly had found his calling on a complete fluke. In
developing his craft, he broke the traditions of commercial
glassblowing, characterizing the Venetian ways as “too decadent,”
and focused on reinventing glassblowing for the American
idiom. Friend and fellow artist Italo
Scanga described Chihuly’s work

A breathtaking view of the main canal on Murano island showcases
the vibrant colors that have influenced blown glass for centuries.
14 • LIVING LUXE MAGAZINE / SUMMER 2019 Photo by imagIN.gr photography.