Bubble

It's the Journées du Patrimoine this weekend and we usually like to go to something, preferably a place we haven't visited before. We hadn't given it much thought till yesterday afternoon, when I googled events in the Aude and after a few dead ends found a list by commune. Most were the usual suspects, but "Artisanal glass blowing" sprang out at me. And it was in Castelnau d'Aude, which is only half an hour's drive away. Decision made!

We headed over there straight after lunch. We think of the area between Tourouzelle, Escales, and Puicheric as the Bermuda Triangle. It seems to be a maze of narrow winding roads which leave you completely disorientated so you heave a sigh of relief when you unexpectedly come across the main route départementale. However I was pleased to refind the secret narrow road that takes you under the railway and then goes through a tiny tunnel underneath the route nationale so you don't have to dodge the speeding traffic.

Not that there was any traffic -- it was a gloomy, overcast day with occasional spitting rain, and the roads were deserted. When we arrived Isabel the glassblower was just finishing a demo to seven people, and only three more people arrived while we were waiting.

It was really fascinating. I've never seen glass blowing done before, and she was very good at explaining the techniques and challenges. It's amazing to see the glass bend and stretch while she controls it entirely using her eyes and subtle hand movements to keep it symmetrical and get the shape she wants. She was just making simple glass flowers but even for this it's a meticulous process. Starting with a tube-shaped piece of glass she has to decide which specific operations to do in which specific order in order to get the result she wants. Once she'd done the blowing in this photo, she produced a microscopically thin bubble which she then skilfully knocked off to leave the flower shape. We noticed that the discarded glass, even when cold, was so thin that it was fluttering in the wind.

She's been glassblowing since 1983, having started off blowing glass for use in laboratories -- the only woman in this job when she started. I would never have thought that much of the more complex glassware needed in labs is made by hand -- "It's not worth making a very complicated machine to produce a few pieces." Now she makes jewellery, glassware, ornaments, and sculptures. It was a real treat to meet someone so skilled and so ready to share her passion. Definitely one of the more interesting Journées du Patrimoine we've had! There are a few more photos right from here. And she has a website.