How Colored Glass Water Pipes are Made

Once I had a love, and it was a gas. Soon found out, had a shrine of glass.

Blondie and Cloud 9 Smoke Co have one thing in common: our hearts are made of and long for glass. Without a glass shrine that’s compelling in color and artistic features, you may feel mucho mistrust, and love’s gone behind. We’ll cover all you need to know to have a heart… of colored glass.

How is colored glass made?

Not too long ago, Bob Snodgrass made the first piece of heady glass art with fumed glass. When a glass artist, like Snodgrass, fumes glass, they use heated gold and silver powder to release fumes that give glass a semi-opaque backing. Silver will create hues of blue to purple, while gold fumes create pink, green, and orange patterns. Snodgrass’ innovation was the start of the colored glass culture.

Nowadays, glass artists can use frit or cane to add color into their pieces. Frit is a powdered or ground colored glass that the cullet is rolled through to fuse the colors. The frit will melt into the cullet, or borosilicate glass pipe, incorporating color into the piece. Frit can range from a cornstarch consistency to pebble-sized pieces. The size will affect whether color will be solid or a spotty design. To create designs of stripes, rainbows, or wig-wags, an artist will use cane. Cane is a colored glass bar that is heated and stretched to create strips of color.

What about all the trippy pieces?

Aside from fumed glass, a common color-form with hand pipes and water pipes is dichroic glass. Dichroic glass takes on different colors when light is shined through it or when light is reflected off of it. This glass is made by stacking layers of glass and micro layers of metals or oxides that give the glass shifting colors. Another trippy addition to colored glass is the creation of alien skin or bubble trap. When you look at a piece with alien skin, you’ll notice tiny bubbles that give the piece texture and depth that resembles what we’d imagine as alien skin. Alien skin is a form of bubble trap, sleeving, and fuming. This intricate design will leave you feeling out of this world!

In between, what I find is pleasing and I’m feeling fine…

Finding the best colored glass is so confusing, but Cloud 9 Smoke Co will give you peace of mind with our top-tier selection of heady glass. When you take a look at our heady pieces, you’ll notice some of the glass-blowing techniques you read about today. You may spot a piece with millefiori, which are pictures made out of glass — make sure to smile back at all the fun faces!

Riding high on love’s true bluish light

Or pink, or green, or purple.. There’s so many options of colored glass pieces out there for you! Now that you have a heart of colored glass and a glass shrine with fun colors and artistic elements, you have all the reason in the world to feature your gallery to friends, family, and followers. For any additions to your art collection, Cloud 9 Smoke Co has the best options of colored glass pieces.

When you’re ready to showcase, make sure to stay on art director lingo:

• Fumed glass is made by heating gold and silver powder to release fumes that give glass a semi-opaque backing.

• Frit is a powdered or ground colored glass that the cullet is rolled through to fuse the colors.

• Cane is a colored glass bar that is heated and stretched to create strips of color and designs we know and love, such as wig-wag.

• Dichroic glass takes on different colors when light is shined through it or when light is reflected off of it. This glass is made by stacking layers of glass and micro layers of metals or oxides that give the glass shifting colors.

• Alien skin is a form of bubble trap, sleeving, and fuming that gives a piece texture and depth that resembles what we’d imagine as alien skin.

• Millefiori are pictures made out of glass.

Shine on with your heart of glass, collect great pieces of colored glass, and even give glassblowing a try at your local studio. As always, make Bob Snodgrass proud of your collection.