Let's Get To know Bubble Trap Glass

Bubble trap glass has been blowing minds around the world for ages. The Bubble Trap Techniques is a really neat technique where the artist traps air bubbles in the glass. These air bubbles can be done in a random pattern or meticulously laid out into a very unique pattern. Molds are usually used to make a really clean and nice pattern. Today there are a few names bubble trap goes by depending on the applied texture and coloring method. Here we will talk about the overall bubble trap method as well as the snakeskin and alien skin technique.

How is the bubble trap glass made?

There really are as many ways to make bubble trap glass as there is to dance at a rave. Well maybe not that many, but there are a lot of ways. As I write this I will just go over it the way I learned, before YouTube and all these neat info we have now.

It all starts with basically a larger clear tube of glass and a smaller colored tube of glass. The artist opens the clear tube open fully on one end so that the colored tube and go inside of it. Then the artist takes a colored tube, or make a colored tube from coil-potting some color. Once the artist has the tube he or she can mark it or indent it many ways. They can use a knife, a pick a frog, a spike roller or just about any way to get indents. These little indents become the air traps. This piece is then put inside the clear and the clear is melted down on top of the color so that it is smoothly covering the color while trapping the small air bubbles.

Steve Sizelove is one of the leading glass artists who primarily focus on bubble trap. As you can see by one of his dab rigs he is amazing at bringing the colors and bubble trap to a new level. We call this Elev8!

Another method is for the artist to take a tube and again lay in the indents as they wish. Then use clear or many times transparent colors to cover the indents trapping the air. This is then melted down and can be a really neat effect.

Now there are many many things that go into how to fully make the bubble trap glass and more techniques on how to take it yet to another level, we just would have to be here forever. These are the basic bubble trap method most artists use today.

What is Snakeskin Glass

This is a bubble trap glass technique where the artist uses some colored tubing and the bubble trap pattern to make the glass look like snakeskin. Fuming with gold and silver tend to also make a really neat snakeskin effect we just love!

What is Alien Skin Glass

This type of glass again is a very neat bubble trap glass technique that is much the same as the snakeskin technique. This bubble trap technique just looks more like alien skin, whatever that might be. Its also the first thing I ever heard fumed bubble trap glass called, so this is what we call it here at Elev8 Glass Gallery.

Neat Full Video For Alien Skin Bubble Trap

Neat SHORT Video For Alien Skin Bubble Trap