Mount Pearl artisan finds relationship between welding and glassblowing for fantastical art

Tucked behind a Mount Pearl home is where Josh Moores turns glass into art.

Under his steady hands, glass is heated up, made moldable and turned into anything from cups, hamburger earrings, Christmas baubles and colourful octopuses.

Moores turned his garage into East Coast Glassworks — a glassblowing studio with kiln, tools and instruments used to help tug, twirl, grab and shape glass.

"I find that with glass the material works very similarly to metal. When you heat metal up and get it red hot, you can bend it certain ways and the same thing with glass," Moores told CBC News.

Moores, a welder by trade, said his training gave him the skills needed to work with high heat.

"I just like to make a bit of everything really," he said. "Our Christmas baubles are probably our number one seller. People just love them, love the variety of colours and shapes in them."

WATCH | See these stunning glass creations take shape: 

This N.L. glassblower counts bulbs, drinkware and even hamburger earrings among his creations

5 days ago

Duration 3:01

Josh Moores operates East Coast Glassworks out of his garage in Mount Pearl. It’s a mesmerizing process to see glass made moldable once heated. His work has attracted customers from different parts of the world — not bad for something that was just a hobby.

He also makes colourful marine creatures, inspired by Newfoundland and Labrador's connection to the ocean.

"Our octopus are fun to make. And then recently I started making the squids — I guess, just to try a different sculpture," said Moores.

"I started making some small ones and I started experimenting with some bigger ones. And yeah, it's just something a bit unique."

From welding to glass

Moores said he turned to glassblowing as a hobby four years ago, but he can't put his finger on why he was drawn to it after seeing videos online.

"There's no real rhyme or reason. I just kind of started on a whim," he said.

"I invested a bit of time and money into getting the equipment piece by piece and just kind of playing around with the glass and I've just been hooked. And yeah, it's just absolutely fun."

Using YouTube videos, Moores said he taught himself.

Now it's his full-time job.

Customers typically reach him through Instagram. He says he's shipped his art across Canada, the U.S., the U.K. and Australia. 

His items can also be found at the Craft Council of Newfoundland & Labrador's shop in downtown St. John's, Posie Row and the X Store in the Avalon Mall, he said. His glass pipes are sold at Atlantic Cannabis stores.

"We have a variety of work everywhere," Moores said.

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