Swedish 'Graal' technique

The Graal technique is a glass blowing technique which dates back to the beginning of the century. Because of its labour intensive nature the technique was not an attractive proposition for commercial applications. But for Olaf Stevens the Graal technique was exactly what he was looking for, as his decorations are 'sandwiched' between two layers of glass. For many years now he has been travelling to Sweden every couple of months where, in conjunction with the glass blowers of Studio Glass, his crystal designs take shape.

During the initial phase a piece of coloured glass is blown and coated on the outside with a thicker layer of colourless crystal. This results in a thick layer of crystal, combined with a thin layer of colour on the inside, in the shape of a coconut. Two of these shapes, each with a different colour, are produced and melted together at the ends. One of the pieces is broken away from the blow pipe and the result, a diabolo shaped object, remains connected to a single pipe. The object is then heated in the oven and, whilst being rotated, the melted section is modelled into a dish and folded around the initial piece. This results in a sphere with different colours on the inside and the outside. The design is cooled down and, when cold, engraved and cut with the required decorations. During this process the thin outer layer is fashioned in such a way that the desired image remains behind on the object. It is then reheated in the oven so that all signs of cutting and milling are melted away and covered with a layer of clear crystal. Finally, the object is blown again to enlarge the images. The basic shape is finished off once it has cooled down in the cooling oven. Operations involving hot work are carried out by the glass blowers, cold work operations are carried out by Olaf Stevens himself.

(text derived from an article by Piet Augustijn forLeerdam Glass Art Exhibition Catalogue, 2000)