learn how to blow glass

Well, I haven’t actually done it myself but I did manage to go visit a glass blowing studio, so I guess that almost counts. It looks absolutely fascinating. Maybe someday, after I retire and win the lottery, I could afford to buy blast furnaces and all the huge machinery that seems necessary for this craft . . .

I’ve always been fascinated with the colors and textures of glass, and ever since a pot-head buddy in high school talked about blowing glass for a living, its kind of hung around in the back of my mind as a potentially very cool thing to do. Not for a living as much as for personal enjoyment. I figure the worst I’d end up with would be an interestingly colored and shaped lump of glass. . . and at best it might even be something I could use, or hang on the wall, or at least give to someone else. Of course I’m not really sure what all goes into such an undertaking—I have these vague images of of big ovens and bearded men blowing into long tubes . . .

How realistic is it to get into glass blowing as a casual hobby?