Thursday, January 25, 2007

picture of a punty (click here)

punty - noun - an iron rod used in glassmaking for handling the hot glass.

You can't see it very well in this picture, but the rod in approximately the center of the picture running into the orange mass of glass is the punty. Glassblowing has always fascinated me. There used to be a glassblower in Colorado Springs which we used to visit from time to time, and I never wanted to leave. It was so exciting to watch the blow and manipulate the glass into such beautiful shapes.

limn


limn –v - To represent in drawing or painting; to portray in words; describe; to illuminate manuscripts.

I'm a big fan of the lost art of manuscript illumination. Here's a page from the Book of Kells (c. A.D. 800), a copy of the gospels produced by Irish monks.