While we were in Venice, we took a boat to another island called Murano. This place is famous for it's glass art. There are galleries everywhere selling jewelry, vases, glasses, dishes and art made from the glass.
It was a cold and windy day and we bundled up to explore.
First stop: the glass workshop
Because Aunt Karen is so awesome at finding cool things to do, we booked reservations at the workshop and each kiddo made a particular creation. One made a pair of earrings, one kiddo made a keychain, and another made a magnet.
We learned how the glass tubes are made, then cut down into little pieces. The kids picked the small pieces out and placed them inside their creation. Then the glass was heated up and melted in a specific little kiln in a microwave. Then we could see them red hot when they came out. They cooled in the workshop for about an hour before we picked them up and brought them with us. It was really fun but we also learned a lot about glass and art while we were there.
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| Red hot earrings right out of the microwave / kiln |
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The earrings changed colour as they cooled.
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Second stop: Glass Art Demonstration at the Glass Cathedral
We sat and watched as the glass master heated the glass in the furnace, and shaped the glass into 3 creations: a dish, a swan, and a dolphin.
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| The glass dish |
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| Shaping the edge |
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| Crimping the edge |
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| Showing how hot it still is, even after being shaped. It set a newspaper on fire. |
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| Pouring the glass to be a base for the swan |
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Shaping the dolphin
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Both glass experiences were very cool and, if you have a chance to do either if you're in the Venice region, we'd really recommend it.
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