The sweat running down your brow, as you gently puff into the blowpipe attached to the amorphous blob of molten glass at the end of said pipe-which is inserted in a furnace-is not from the 2,300-degree fire in front of you-it's from your nerves! You just don't want to make a "mistake" on your very first piece of (what will assuredly be museum-worthy) art glass. Phew.