UK Boro people - how many are there?

[Steampunkglass]

I've been wondering for a while how many people in the UK are now using coloured boro more than just now and then? It seems very popular in USA, and I know alot of people here are starting to have a dabble with it, but I am currious to know how many of us hard-core hard-glass people are working with it in the UK at the moment? 

[catriona]

Not at the momment but now ive got my midrange pluss 2 oxy i,m hoping to buy some to try .xxcatxx

[Helen G]

I've had some in the drawer for nearly two years now and done nothing with it!

[fionaess]

Spent all day playing with boro - making/attempting to make weird and wonderful animals...

[Diane]

I love boro but I'm a 'dabbler'.  The clarity of clear and the colours you get can't be matched. Having more time would help - a full day working with boro would be heaven.

Diane x

[Stacy]

I'm an "always" gal!
Couldn't use 104 now if my life depended on it, as my recent attempt to make a 104 twisty proves!!

[garishglobes]

I'm an 'always' gal too  The clear is crystal clear, the colours are unbeatable and it doesn't spit. It is always challenging and there's so much to learn.

Go for it, Cat! 

[Ian Pearson]

In my experience there have been two routes to take when reaching the stage of using "Boro". The first and oldest is through scientific glassblowing which if you like discovered borosilicate as a material to use for function only. The artists who approached glass through low expansion glass via furnace and slumping/fusing then beading learnt of borosilicate as a design/fashion/style item. It semed to have been rebranded "Boro" and became a clourful buzz word uswed in various cultural aspects of life. I am thinging of bongs in USA here. If it helps I will ask my colleagues on their views of coloured borosilicate at next weeks BSSG Symposium. I for one will be interested in feedback and can report back. More and more scientific glassblowers are developing an artistic side but sometimes the problems is too much technical know how and certain peoples work, (including mine) takes on the appearance of model making. I know of more scientific glassblowers that are indeed using coloured glass than 25 years ago. It is rare that an artistic lampworker moves to scientific though and the reaosn are complex. The attraction of using borosilicate is maybe that the perception of it is easy but it depends on what one wishes to make. At an estimate I would say that there are 200 active UK scientific glablowers, a third will be also making arty glassware but not all of those will be using coloured. Shock horror maybe they dont know it is available in UK !

Ian

[Steampunkglass]

Interesting numbers Ian, I didn't realise there were so few scientfic glassworkers left in the uk!  I'd had a suspicion that there weren't that many of us working with colour on this side of the Atlantic, seems so far that were are a rarer group than I thought!

Spent all day playing with boro - making/attempting to make weird and wonderful animals...

Looking forward to seeing them, can't be any worse than my triffids! 

[garishglobes]

I find the scientific link interesting. Having come from the soft glass/beads side of things, mymy interest in boro is much more satisfying because of the science involved and the challenge it presents. (am also frustrated by this, having sworn many years ago never, ever, ever to use my metallurgy degree in anger to any purpose at all! )

I do want to learn at least some basic scientific glassblowing principles to get where I want to go next. I think there is an overlap between the two directions, science and craft/art, which will eventually become greater as flameworking and boro colour use expands in this country. The opposite of scientific workers' art resembling model making is 'art glass' workers' art, where it uses blown elements, being unsymmetrical.

It would be very interesting to know what scientific glassblowers make of the colour side of things.

[fionaess]

Spent all day playing with boro - making/attempting to make weird and wonderful animals...

Looking forward to seeing them, can't be any worse than my triffids! 

Oh yes they are Glenn 

[Wibbly Wobbly Glass]

I'm using more and more boro by the day and staying clear of mandrels too.... some days good...some days bad. 

[garishglobes]

Ah...but the bad days make the good ones so much better

[♥♥Tan♥♥]

This is an interesting thread for me, I love boro but will probably never be able to have a go because of space issues. Its fascinating to watch real art come from this medium rather than tiny beads squeezed out on a minor and an oxycon!

I am so glad you guys are not only getting into it, getting good at it, but showing us every step of the way how you are doing, its making for great reading

[Ian R Pearson]

OK OK its late and I have had a few malts, ( in training for my hen night on Saturday). Here is my view of a Boro Scotland. I am at the top of main land, Thurso near John O Groats. Trained as scientific glassblower 45 years ago, worked for Atomic Energy now got studio and been going 20 years, doing mostly clear boro. Fort Augustus is Dougie Wilson again as me but trained 6 months in Braintree Essex, makes nessies etc, uses clear boro but also a little colour and paints clear to be colour. St Andrews we have Frits Akerboom, Dutch but left there 50 years ago. Into abstract clear boro and one time Chairman of Scottish Glass Society. Other side of Country we have Ed and Tom Englehardt who have a hippy approach to lampworking. Being USA bred and also Chemistry background its no surprise they use lustres. Centre of Scottish Glassmaking is Perth/Stirling Area its worth noting Tom Young at Bridge of Allan who made his own coloured Boro over 40 years ago and probably was the first person to do this method in the Country. Still working at 70. Perfume bottles were speciality and Tom worked for Stirling University until went on his own under banner of Village Glass. Not far away we have John Liddell now at Glasgow Uni as head of Scientific Glassblowing before that and maybe still running Phat Designs which made glass bongs from coloured Boro. In Glasgow is a name to watch out for Sean of course at Off Mandrell and keen to take exams from BSSG - no pressure Sean eh? He is perfect example of the perfect match of scientific glassblowing and artistic lampworking. I have seen his set up and his very good attempts at scientifc glassware which proves the mix can work. In Edinburgh we have Stuart Jiohnstone at Edinburgh Uni making sensual glass for hen parties amongst other things but mostly clear. Scientific glassblowers buy coloured glass from suppliers they already buy form so thats Wale in USA and Plowdens. They know no other suppliers, which I think is a shame. I hope and plan that wil change

I apologise for all the scientific glassblowers that I have missed but I am relying on the fact that they will not be reading this so will not know. Unless some one here tells them!

Nite

ian