murano, hand blown glassI felt I needed to give my sister something really special for her birthday and I know she loves Murano glass, having made a special trip to Murano, Italy to buy some firsthand. That was a few years ago and I think it's time for her to get a different piece for her collection. I found a website where I can buy both new and used Murano glass, and when browsing through it, I found the piece pictured here. It's used, but it's in perfect condition, and I know my sister will just love this gorgeous piece of Murano glass.

This Pre-owned Murano Glass will go beautifully in my sister's dining room or living room. She has a much more formal home than I do, and this piece speaks artistry. Whomever blew this particular Murano art glass object knew what he or she was doing and it is delicate yet has enough mass in it to be easily seen in the room where she will display it. Personally I love art glass too, and have a large collection of paperweights and Swedish crystal vases.

I found a great site for art glass at My Glass Beautiful at http://www.myglassbeautiful.com/, a site I'll be back to frequently to either buy or admire the beautiful glass objects found there. I live in a big city and would have to drive for miles to find a serious selection of art glass like this site has. We go to art museums a couple of times a year and I always pop into the gift shop to see if they have Murano or other types of art glass but unless they are having an exhibit, chances are they won't have anything, so I'm glad that I can buy Murano glass online.

Glass is an amazing substance, and made from silicates to which different compounds can be added to make it for different applications. For example, glass used for high heat cooking is different chemically than art glass or hand blown glass. I've actually seen glass being blown in a studio and it was quite fascinating to see it done. The most that I've done with glass artistically is learn to cut it, so I marvel at how the masters do what they do. I'd love to learn more about making art glass. My sister enjoys arts and crafts too, so it might be kind of fun to look into places locally where glass is made or seeing if we can get some instructional DVDs on the process, even if we never make a piece ourselves. It would be enjoyable to sit down together as sisters and explore the inticacies of something that we both admire a great deal.