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H EAT radiates from a furnace flaming at 1150 degrees Celcius. But it does not disturb the glass-blower. She seems not to notice.
The glass ball on the tip of the steel rod is red hot. Elizabeth Lacey handles the heavy rod expertly, turning it round and round and round.
She brings the rod to her mouth and blows. The ball grows. It cools slightly and she steps lightly towards the furnace.
The furnace mouth opens like that of a hungry dragon and the glass ball disappears into the flaming oven.
Out again, turning, blowing, back into the heat, more turning and blowing.
The shape changes from a mass of molten glass to an exquisite vase.
"Are you not exhausted?", I ask Liz.
And as she smiles, I realise I never once noticed the all-engulfing heat while she was creating yet another masterpiece.
Liz and partner David Jackson are the owners of The Glass House studio and gallery which recently opened on the Seidelberg Wine Estate in Suid Agter Paarl.
They lived in Johannesburg until last year, when the Cape beckoned, and they decided to combine wine and glass amid the lush vineyards of Paarl.
Liz is the designer and glass-blower, with an affinity to colour, shape and form.
Robert Lenner, a young glass-blower from the Czech Republic is an integral part of the team. Physical strength is a must for the larger pieces.
David is in charge of fusing, moulding and the equipment. He runs the business and sees to the corporate work and architectural glass features.
The couple's work is in demand. They have made a 4m x 11m installation for Carnival City in Johannesburg, with metre-tall curved and textured parts for which different glass techniques (fusing, casting, moulding and blowing) were used.
Another enormous project, a five metre tall sculpture, adorns a private home in the north. They have installed their work in Sheraton and Sun hotels as far as Dubai and Albania.
The couple make their own clear glass from special silica sand, at 1350 degrees C in the furnace. Chemicals are added from an own recipe designed for handblown glass, with a working temperature of 1150 degrees C at the bench.
The furnace runs 24 hours a day, seven days a week, Elizabeth explains.
And the heat is immaterial, even in Paarl.
"Glass-blowing is hot, wherever you are. As soon as you start working, you simply forget the heat," she smiles. |
