Exit133 Video : Twisty Cup Pro/Am 2008

Last year we had the opportunity to video the M-Space Twisty Cup Pro/Am Competition. We had no idea what we were getting into. But we were hooked. This year’s event was on September 6th, and we were there for most of the day. What is it? It’s an opportunity for some of our region’s best glassblowers to show off their skills and make some crazy twisty cups. M-Space describes it as:

A twisty cup is a very thin glass with twisted ridges spiraling down the sides and the bottom. The ridges come from a glass bubble being blown into a small mold, called an optic mold. When done properly, it only takes a few minutes for a glassblower to complete a twisty cup. Any flaw in glassblowers working process is easily detectable due to the look of the cup or the fact that it will often break in the process.

Twisty cups are an Italian-style glassblowing universal and offer glassblowers a rare opportunity to (somewhat) objectively compete in a normally subjective artistic community. Otherwise, how would glassblowers get to parade around the shop with a big belt over their head yelling, “I’m the Champion!”

With that … here’s 2008:

We don’t actually get into the whole competition side of it. We don’t show a winner. We hardly show completed glassware. It’s more about the scene.

And, of course, don’t forget that the video feed is a much higher quality version of this video. Throw “this link” into favorite player and auto-download new videos as their completed.

Previously on Exit133