Self-taught Cuban glass blower turns recycled glass into art
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Loading... - Brian Lyus
- 27 Jun 2024
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Eduardo Viciana, a self-taught glassblower from Cuba who transforms recycled glass into art, is one of just a few artisans in the Caribbean island nation to have mastered the art. Viciana learned to blow glass using only the most basic tools and raw materials.
Viciana, 54, works hard every day at his trade, heating glass in three hand-made brick ovens before blowing it into beautiful, bright shapes for lamps, ceiling lights, sculptures, and containers.
Viciana stated, "There is no glass blowing tradition in the country." Here, we learn everything on our own. The tools and equipment are designed by us.
Using a blowpipe, molten glass is inflated into a bubble in the art of glass blowing, which has been done for at least 2,000 years.
Glass is melted in a handmade brick oven before being used to make an object. After that, the artist shapes the piece with tongs and a blowpipe.
In Cuba, even a corner home improvement shop is a unique case because of a crushing monetary emergency that has prompted boundless deficiencies. Viciana stated that he employs glass scraps whenever he can find them.
According to Viciana, the Spanish Embassy in Cuba, the National Capitol, the Grand Theater in Havana, and the stained glass windows of local churches all feature his artfully transformed recycled glass.
