Written and translated Silvana Gubetta

The technique of solid working consists of shaping the glass in a solid form using particular tools without blowing.

The melted glass is gathered on a punty several times so to form a sufficient amount of hot glass, then it is shaped using blades, knives, shears and paddles. The working process of the same object may require a lot of time and frequently re-heating in order to keep the mass of glass workable.

Either you start with a large mass of glass, and after several manipulating steps you pull out the form (hot-core sculpting), either the sculpture is formed by adding successive hot glass bits, or as it more often happens, using both methods, this kind of working process requires frequent transfers from punty to punty and also moments when some parts of the objects may be kept warm in the annealer (garage) until they are all assembled together.

The annealing process may require days, that depends on the dimension of the piece and on its complexity.