Handmade Portraits: Glassblowing With Kiva Ford

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(Music by Lordx)

Watching glassblower Kiva Ford transform searing, molten glass into a crystalline solid is thrilling to behold. It takes far more dexterity than I ever realized (it should come as no surprise to learn that Kiva was once a professional juggler). Observing the intangible take form allows me a window into a handicraft that straddles art, science and a storied history of apprenticeship.

Aside from Kiva’s pastime of creating miniature distillation vessels and delicately curlicued glass jewelry, he holds a full-time job as a scientific glassblower, whipping up all manner of wild apparati — extractors, reactors, condensers, and custom flasks. The vessels used in chemical research are incapable of mass production; each piece has been meticulously handcrafted for thousands of years.

About the filmmaker: Alex Rappoport is an award-winner director, cinematographer, and editor based in upstate New York. This is his first video for Etsy.

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