A passion for glass

Mark Armstrong demonstrates the art of glassmaking

The “My Passion is….” speaker series organized by the Friends of Wellington Library invites County residents to share their passions in engaging and thought-provoking presentations at the Wellington Library. However, last Saturday’s presentation was a unique treat as it took place in Mark Armstrong’s glass studio where he not only spoke about the artof glassmaking, but demonstrated how he transforms a blob of molten glass into a functional piece of art, in this case a drinking glass.

Mr. Armstrong has been making glass for almost 39 years, making his first piece in 1987. He initially went to university to study architecture, but halfway into his degree he realized he wanted to work more with his hands. He was influenced in this by his father, who was a mason by trade, but was always doing something with his hands, from building furniture to building houses. Mr. Armstrong enrolled in Sheridan College with the intent to pursue a career in fine furniture making. As a first year elective he had to choose a semester in one of the other four studios—glass, ceramic, textile or jewellery making. He chose the glass studio, and his career path was set. There could have been a dose of fate involved. Years later he found out that two of his relatives in the Hamilton and Burlington area were listed as glassmakers in the 1851 census. After moving to the County, Mr. Armstrong worked with a partner in a glass studio in Bloomfield before starting his own studio in Wellington in 2005.

Last Saturday afternoon, about 30 people gathered in the warm confines of Mr. Armstrong’s studio in Wellington to hear him speak about his craft. The warmth came from three glass furnaces. The most obvious was the “glory hole” furnace, used for heating and reheating pieces in work. A circular opening leads into the orange heart of the furnace operating at over 1,100°C. This furnace is turned on in the morning and turned off at night. Adjacent to this is the glass melting furnace, also operating at 1,100°C. A crucible inside holds about 150 lbs of molten clear glass, and this furnace runs continuously. It was last shut off in November, 2024. There’s an annealing furnace that operates at a relatively cool 550°C, where the finished pieces are stored until they are allowed to slowly cool, a process that could take 24 hours or more. Mr. Armstrong explained that he makes coloured glass pieces by adding the required amount of clear glass taken from the glass melting furnace to a chunk of densely coloured glass, with the intense heat and working process serving to distribute the colour evenly.

He has a mantra for working with molten glass. “It’s all about timing and temperature,” he says. The temperature of the glass has to be just right so that it will stick to the blowpipe, the timing has to be right so that the glass is workable without becoming too soft. The process of going from a dollop of molten glass to the finished piece involves many cycles of shaping and reheating. The glass is shaped by blowing, but also by moulds and by mechanical pressure from various tools, including—surprisingly—wet newsprint. Mr. Armstrong says that working in glass is an exercise in discipline. “The glass will tell you what it’s going to do. Once you start you are on your way,” he says.

Even after almost 39 years, Mr. Armstrong still has a keen passion for the art of glass making. “I think it’s the ability to do something with my hands” he says. “I’ve always thought there’s a mystery to glass that most of us don’t know anything about. We’re so exposed to it in everyday life, but so many of us know nothing about how it’s made and manipulated.” He buys his raw glass from a supplier in North Carolina, but he is one of the few glass artists who also makes glass from raw materials. “You get a depth and density of colour that you can’t get in the normal way that studio glassmakers are colouring their glass. And some of the chemistry amazes me. There’s one particular glass that I make that’s a sliver-based glass that changes colour depending on the way it’s heated and cooled. It never repeats itself in the way that it shows, and that’s fascinating in its own right.” Mr. Armstrong makes a wide range of glassworks, from his well-known glass pears, to ornaments, perfume bottles and paperweights. He also does commissioned pieces. Mr. Armstrong’s gallery is at 326 Second Avenue in Wellington, and more information can be found at armstrongglassworks.com.

The Wellington Library Passion series continues next week with a presentation by Chris Braney on Saturday. Mr. Braney is the councillor for Hillier, but he’s also self-described as “a farmer, cider-maker, and proud grower of exceptional pinot noir, chardonnay and cider apples.” For more information, please call 613.399.2023 or visit peclibrary.org