What is Reticello? Simply it is: (Italian, “glass with a small network”) A type of blown glass made with canes organized in a crisscross pattern to form a fine net, which may contain tiny air traps.

Although the theory is simple, the execution is meticulous-

  1. Start by pulling cane with a colored core

  2. Chop cane to length & sort by diameter

  3. Lay out canes on a preheated steel or ceramic plate (typically 30-75 canes)

  4. Heat the plate until the canes fuse together and form a “ribbed” sheet

  5. Roll the sheet up on the end of the blow pipe, thus forming a tube.

  6. Carefully twist the tube and close the end. By closing the tube you create a bubble which can then be inflated

  7. Inflate and further twist the bubble

  8. Make this bubble into a slightly tapered cup with a small hole on the bottom

  9. Maintain this cup while repeating the process over except this time twisting the cane in the opposite direction

  10. Blow the second bubble into the first cup. The opposing directions of the twist make the pattern,  the ribbed texture traps an air bubble at every intersection.

  11. Compress and smooth the bubble

  12. Carefully examine and determine whether you have succeeded enough to proceed with blowing a piece … If not, start over ;)