What is murrine and canework? Canework is the use of patterned glass rods to create intricate designs in blown glass or fused glass objects. The patterns in canes is often made up of twisted strands of color. Murrine is a special type of cane that is designed to reveal its patterns upon cross-sectioning, for the canes are to be cut in small pieces. Some murrini only have surface coloration, are pulled to have flat sides (a square or rectangular cross-section) are are displayed on their sides, while others with elaborate inner coloration are displayed across the section. To prepare rods, the glassblower gathers and shapes glass into roughly the shape of a can of soda, but larger. Glass color can be added at various stages by picking up small colored rods laid out in an optical mold or on a grooved steel grid, on pastorellis, as layered frit or as full color cups. this cylinder of shaped (either round, square or rectangular) and heated until uniformly soft. Concurrently, the glassblower's assistant prepares a post, a punty with a platform of clear glass on the end. Working together, they connect the hot cylinder of glass to the post, and gaffer the hot glass in the middle, and the glassblower an assistant holding their punties horizontally, while one walks away slowly and regularly, pulling the glass into a long rod. A muscle-burning variation of this is to spin the punties as quickly as possible to create twists of color in the molten rod. The cane solidifies quickly as it cools, and then cut into large section within minutes. What may I create with murrine and canework? vases and vessels What equipment is needed for murrine and canework? furnace punties glasscolor tweezers and ceramic cutters Where do I learn murrine and canework? This specialized technique is not taught in beginner classes, one must be on the look out for oportunities. What other techniques can be combined with murrine and canework? The surface of some flat style murrini can be detailed with sandblasted decoration. Exemplary websites: Schafermeyer Kelly - flat cane and murrine and sandblasted decoration Richard Marquis - murrine Richard Ritter - murrine Stephen Rolf Powell - murrine Kait Rhoads - twisted cane and murrine More information: Enter Forums