Amber’s Glass

Amber Carman is a blown glass artist living and producing art in West Virginia. Originally from central Arkansas, she has lived in Kentucky, New Jersey & Tennessee. In 2003, she left a sales career to accept an apprenticeship to learn off hand glass blowing techniques from Master Craftsman Joe Deanda at the Rainbow Glass Factory inside Dollywood Amusement Park at Pigeon Forge, Tennessee.

Have you ever seen a glass artist in action? The fires are hot, like a bon fire with tires on it! Just to walk up to the furnace intimidates most people. The more time spent in close proximity to the fires increases body temperature and anything that will absorb heat. When the door to the furnace is opened, it is like looking into the face of a goddess; bright white hot! “This part is so inspiring for me, to have power to create and feel all that energy waiting for me! I love it!!! The end product is for you, to enjoy!”

Once you know what to look for, you can see the surface of the glass inside the furnace. Using a stainless steel pipe, a practiced spin will gather the glass onto the end of the metal like honey. This liquefied matter is drippy and at the mercy of gravity. Just the right amount gathered, and done so with balance and expectation, will produce exactly what the glass worker intended from the onset. Amazingly it cools quite fast and will be solid within minutes, making the glass artist’s job all about timing and precision.

This is not about function– sunlight catching a color through the glass and tossing it onto a wall. It’s about handmade whimsies that are fun and colorful and help us reflect on simple, sweeter times, maybe a reminder of a childhood visit to a wondrous candy store or a soda pop in a glass bottle. It is about the light passing through the glass in a way that brings a room to life with action and color! Every piece will always be unique because no matter how many times practiced, the fluctuations will imprint onto the glass. Glossy shiny satin smooth colorful difficult fiery fragile dangerous challenging beautiful GLASS!