Why do some art glass pieces contain bubbles?
Most viewers of studio art glass who ask questions about bubbles are usually confusing the qualities of studio glass with that of factory-made lead crystal. Lead crystal is usually seen to have very few noticeable bubbles. In part, this is due to the technical qualities of how it is melted in the factory setting; however, to a far greater extent, crystal has fewer bubbles because of the limited processes used to shape it. Foremost of those–lead crystal is usually colorless. One of the ways studio art glass has established its uniqueness is in its sophisticated use of color and the complex technical ways in which it is shaped. Thus there are forms and imagery that are possible in studio glass but not in factory glass, and it is those advanced techniques that invariably lead to bubbles in the glass. Additionally, often studio glass can become quite large in scale (note you almost never see crystal pieces exceed 2 feet in dimension), and with mass comes the increased possibility of bubbl
