Man demonstrates glass-blowing skills
All Sean McDonald needs is a torch and soft glass to make a complex work of art.
McDonald, 25, of Saxonburg performs glass-blowing, an art form that uses heat and gravity, to sculpt borosilicate glass into various objects.
“I am really fascinated by concepts,” McDonald said. “Using whatever medium you can to best display your message in art.”
McDonald will take center stage at the Butler Fall Festival, performing a glass-blowing demonstration.
It was at another festival where McDonald, who was then an art student at Slippery Rock University, first encountered glass blowing.
He was transfixed by the process, and stood there watching it for eight hours. He soon took glass-blowing lessons.
After he graduated from college with a bachelor's degree in art, he began working at Jefferson Glass in Saxonburg. He conducts lessons, mobile demonstrations and fills custom orders for glass-blown sculptures.
The borosilicate glass that McDonald uses is a heat- and shock-resistant material, similar to Pyrex, which is used for baking dishes.
“Two of my most important tools are heat and gravity,” he said.
McDonald said there's a sweet spot between 1,400 and 1,500 degrees that makes glass malleable enough for sculpting. He also uses gravity by positioning the glass specific ways depending upon the sculpture.
McDonald enjoys what he does, but it doesn't come without hazards.
“I get burned all the time,” he said. “It's like asking a carpenter if they get a splinter.”
Common items McDonald sculpts include shot glasses, animal sculptures, marbles and pendants, and he even sculpted a water fountain.
Glass-blowing is one of several forms of art which McDonald enjoys. This includes ceramics, metal forging and wood-crafting.
“I don't really see myself as a glass artist,” he said. “I view myself more as a craftsman. I really like material mediums more than one particular craft.”
