Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, September 28, 1993 TAG: 9309280073
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: KEN DAVIS
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG LENGTH: Medium
But in the right hands, one person's waste can become another's work of art.
Like the hands of Frans Van Damme.
Van Damme, a professional glass blower and glass-blowing instructor at Virginia Tech, has been creating ornaments and scientific instruments from glass for over 40 years.
He will put his years of experience to work for charity Sunday when a table centerpiece he is creating will be auctioned to benefit the University Club building fund.
A native of Belgium, Van Damme began studying glass blowing in The Netherlands in 1950. After finishing a six-year program in five years, Van Damme taught his trade in Europe and America before coming to Tech for a temporary position in 1967.
"It's a temporary job that has lasted 26 years," he said jokingly.
In his large lab on the Tech campus, Van Damme is surrounded by the tools of his trade: tubes of raw manufactured glass, torches, a glass lathe, and dozens of instruments he has created.
Although Van Damme said he hates to see good pieces of glass go to waste, he prefers to work with raw manufactured glass, which he uses to create everything from test tubes to complicated high-powered vacuums and other scientific instruments.
In addition to creating scientific instruments for Tech, Van Damme creates custom pieces for universities and other scientific organizations around the world from Mexico to Moscow.
But his talents go far beyond science.
Though he specializes in making scientific instruments, Van Damme has earned local notoriety from glass ornamentation, creating everything from simple household decorations to a trombone that actually plays music.
And none of it goes for profit.
"I would rather just give it away," he said. "My reward comes from making something that's very difficult to make."
It isn't easy for Van Damme to talk about himself, and he often takes a break from being interviewed to tend to his glassware.
He smiles as he stares at a small glass pitcher he recently created, envisioning what it once was. In his hand he holds a cigarette so steadily that it releases an unwavering stream of smoke straight into the air.
But it takes more than steady hands to work with glass, Van Damme said.
"You have to have a lot of patience to do this," he said, picking up the pitcher and polishing it against his white lab coat. "That's why a lot of people give up on it."
Van Damme said simple pieces like the glass pitcher can take a few days to make, while more complicated ornaments and scientific instruments can take months.
He sets the pitcher back on the workbench, obviously satisfied with its cleanliness. When complimented on its craftsmanship, Van Damme smiles humbly and gives a typical response.
"If you want it, you can have it," he says.
by CNB