​UNDERSTANDING HOT GLASS

The educational video series built to speed up your journey to mastering the art of glassblowing.

This video series is for artists working with soft glass who are ready to take it to the next level and unlock their full potential as a glassmaker. If you're brand spanking new to molten silica, then best way to get started is really to get hands on with some workshops. But once you've figured out which end of the pipe to gather on and have a basic handle on the process, then this video series is the way to deepen your comprehension. 

Even if you've been doing this for years and can already get a piece from the furnace to the oven... if you can't say with absolute certainty that you know what you're doing and why, then this is for you.

Glassblowing takes time and effort but there are paths to take that you get better faster… and paths that leave gaps in time between milestone advances in skill. So if you’re frustrated from a lack of forward momentum, I can help. If your pieces are basically fine but not quite as sweet or big as you want, let's get back on track. Not sure if the bottom is going to break out when you knock it off? Uncertain about adding that next gather or attempting a new complicated shape?...

​Time to level up. Let's keep your blowslot productive and satisfying.

Understanding Hot Glass includes:

​22 VIDEO LESSONS
Clearly explaining crucial concepts and how to apply them to 10 shapes that are fundamental building blocks. This includes volcanoes, cylinders, pulled neck bottles, bowls, spheres, and more. But what's really important is that this is not just a list of steps, but an immersive education that will reshape what you do in the hotshop. It's all about giving you the tools to understand what the glass is doing and why so that you can figure out how to make it whatever shape you want!

DOWNLOADABLE HELP SHEETS
On top of 6 hours of HD video, are short, printable guides that focus on the essential ideas and moves, so when you're actually blowing, you'll have what you need to know right at your fingertips.

OFFICE HOURS
Opportunities for personal feedback from Nikolaj.
Who else has your back like that?!

TEACHING THAT NEVER EXPIRES
Workshops are great, but when they're over and... well, you got what you got and that's it.Take this course at your own pace and rewatch as many times as you need and whenever you want. 

A SOLID GUARANTEE
Full refunds up to a month after purchase, so there's no risk. These videos will absolutely save you from wasting time and money in the hotshop. When you consider the cost of blowing glass (rental time, assistance, color, tools, etc.), if I can speed up or make you even just 10% more efficient, you're looking at massive savings over the lifetime of your experience. More than that, I can promise you, glassblowing is way more fun when you're making things you're happy with.​

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FREE STUFF!

YouTube videos with ​shaky cellphone footage, unintelligible audio and no explanations are a terrible way to learn.​
Glassblowers Guide offers something way better.​​

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Multiple ways to make something means more options for success. Here are two methods for making pulled/twisty cups.

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Scaling up is tough! Here are tips and tricks for safely getting massive amounts of glass out of the furnace.

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Cut out the guesswork of not knowing if you got the cap and save an incredible amount of time on each and every piece!

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Look no further than "the spider wrap" for throwing a bunch of clear or colored glass onto your piece in a jiffy!

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Tricky to do, but it feels awesome when the setup is right and the bubble drops ​out into a perfect waisted form.

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Stretch out a raging hot bubble and get it back to the bench. A must-know move for working with tall shapes. Part 1 of 2.

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How it ends usually depends on how it starts. Master the starter bubble and you're on the way to a successful piece.

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Stretch out a raging hot bubble and get it back to the bench. A must-know move for working with tall shapes. Part 2 of 2.

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ABOUT ME

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Here are some broad strokes... 

I fell in love with glassblowing while studying architecture at Washington University in St. Louis and upon graduating, helped found a teaching studio called Third Degree Glass Factory. After 5 years of honing my skills there, I traveled to Denmark (my country of birth) via an American/Scandinavian Foundation grant. From 2009 - 2020, I ran East Falls Glassworks, which is Philadelphia's public-access glass studio. Recently I've been working as a gaffer-for-hire out of Louisville, KY.

I also have an awesome senior dog and a beautiful wife, but you probably want to know more about the glass, right? Well, above are a couple pictures of stuff I made; I used to make a lot of tight, rigid, and technically challenging shapes, but now I like to get a lot looser with it. Times change.... 

​In any case, I took my first lopsided gather back in 2001 and have spent decades now improving my control and abilities. I know how hard this medium is and learned through making lots of mistakes. Mistakes you shouldn't have to repeat! This video series is the culmination of the most important lessons I learned in the past 20+ years and is what I would have loved to have had when I was just starting out. I want you to learn faster than I did and make the most amazing art that you can.

​Nikolaj Christensen

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