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Glass ornaments made in Europe begin with tubes of pyrex glass which are heated at one end over a flame. The glass blower must have many years of experience to know when the tip of the glass is just hot enough so that air forced through the unheated end of the tube with just the right pressure, will create a perfect round ball. When the ball is the exact size desired - 8cm, or 10cm etc - it is cut off the end of the tube and the process is repeated until the entire glass rod is used up. This photo shows the blowing of a double ball tree topper. The blowers always make this process look very easy, but I have tried blowing glass myself and I can tell you it's not!
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Unsilvered glass balls awaiting painting or silvering. "Silvering" is the process by which the inside of the glass is coated with silver nitrate, giving the glass its shine and adding strength to the final product.
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Metal molds for figural ornaments begin with this gypsum cast from which a clay mold is made. When all the details are exact, a metal mold is made from which the glass figural can be blown. Glass "figurals" are blown in the same way as balls, except that the tip of the glass tube is heated and then placed between the two part metal mold. As the blower fills the mold with blown glass, he closes the two-part mold around the glass for just a few seconds, and voila! When the mold is opened up, a three dimensional figure is revealed.
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One of my "Petite Tetes" "King of Hearts" - a molded ornament, already silvered, and half way through the painting process. The stem of the ornament is left on until the last minute when it is cut and covered with a metal cap with loop, allowing the ornament to be hung on your tree. It allows the ornament to be held and painted, as well as giving it a way to stand upside down to dry in between paint applications.
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Most of my flowers like this beautiful "Wedding Cake Pansies" get several layers of paint. Even though the final flower is yellow, it is first painted in white on the shiny gold surface to cover any streaks and to give it a clean matte finish. Even clear tinted balls like the "Tiffany Dragonfly" go through many stages as each different color of paint must dry before the next is applied.
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An artisan putting the final touches on a limited edition custom design called 'Secret Garden Rose' for the Huntington Library Book Store in California.
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The delicate process of Silk screening ornaments is very popular in the Czech Republic for very detailed designs, or designs which must follow original artwork line for line. The ball ornament is rolled along the rectangular screen, creating a band of design around the center of the ball. Each design is then completed by finishing off the design top and bottom by hand with a brush. It is clear how labor intensive this type of decoration is, and how collectible. While hand painting is done all over Europe, silk screening ornaments is very rare and mastered by only a few factories.
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This is a rare view of glass beads which have been blown and silvered. They are on drying racks, awaiting paint and stringing to make beautiful 6' glass garlands.
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Here are glass beads already silvered and painted, being strung by hand into 6' lengths for you to drape on your Christmas tree, hang from your chandeliers or banisters, or curl up in glass containers for sparkling decorative accents.
