George Hiney

What happens when you mix art and fire? You could end up with a glass figurine like the one pictured here. Of course, you would need an artistic eye, like the one George Heiney has, and also a fire that heats up to 11,000 degrees. The heat is on!

With a glass rod in hand that was 9mm in diameter, George placed it in the scorching fire torch and started to shape a horse figurine. He says anything that has to do with wildlife are his favorite projects to create.

And this project was done so quickly that I never even began to loose my attention. My eyes were as focused as George’s as he controlled the glass exactly as his imagination directed him. I was enthralled by the way he could shape the rod in his right hand with the shaping tool he held in his left.

The details on the wild horse were so meticulous. The way he could make the hair on the mane look so alive with only one tool, the torch and his creativity astounded me.

As I browsed around at the other pieces I noticed colored glass. George told me that by mixing the glass rods with minerals, colors emerge. For example, cobalt adds a blue color to the glass.

In less than ten minutes the horse was completed and left on the table for me to admire. I still couldn’t wrap my head around the way he was able to work the magic into the horse. All I do know is George Hiney is on fire!