Making A Glass Chili In New Mexico

On a recent trip to New Mexico, we were quite pleased to be able to stop in to a place called the Liquid Light Glass which holds classes for people to learn how to make different glass sculptures/items.

This business has a 5 star rating on TripAdvisor and we thought it was well earned.

When we arrived, we headed into the store which has many beautiful glass items that are made by the instructors and ready for purchase.

We were encouraged to go into the classroom via a door and sit in on a class that was being held ~ no charge.

The instructors were busy instructing a person on what to do so we did not get much interaction with them.  But none was really necessary as we were quite enthralled with what we were watching.

There were three people in this class and each had to make their project individually.  A gentleman who had moved to Santa Fe from California has been taking classes here for 3 years.  His goal this time was to make glass chilis so he could make a Christmas tree.  What a unique idea!

The kiln that was used for this particular project heats up to 1200° Fahrenheit.  A tad hot, no?

After the glass is in the kiln, it is taken out and immediately “shaped” into the object you’d like ~ in this case, a chili.  One has to move quickly though so the glass doesn’t cool down too quickly.

Notice how the student is using an instrument that looks like pliers to shape her chili.

She makes sure the tip is pulled to the length she wants her chili to be along with twisting it to the right shape.

When she pulls her instrument away she looks to make sure it’s what she wants.  If a mistake is made, the glass goes back into the kiln.  This one looked pretty good.

Wait … just a little more shaping …

While the chili is being shaped, someone else is prepping the glass for the stem.

Next it’s taken over to the place where the glass chili has been inserted so they can add the stem to it.

And then the stem is carefully shaped.

Next the chili is put into a ‘refrigerator” to cool overnight.

Unfortunately, I have no pictures of the finished product but the process itself was fascinating to me and the glass pieces they sell are absolutely beautiful.

If you’re ever in the Santa Fe area, this is one place you should visit.