Bulgarian-born Momka Peeva knows her way around glass. In fact, she probably knows everything about all types of glass. She even wrote a book about glass that remains a must-read textbook on the composition and production of glass in Bulgaria.
Momka grew up in communist Bulgaria, when everyone, including women, was encouraged to become an engineer. That’s what Momka did: she became a chemical engineer specializing in glass technology. She worked for many years at a large glass factory in Slevin, Bulgaria, and then began teaching at the technical school that operated at the factory. She eventually became the school’s director and wrote a book, Glass Technology (Technica, Sofia, 1993). Over the course of nearly 40 years, Momka learned everything there was to know about glass. Then the Soviet Union collapsed.
”At that time, [my son] Igor moved to the United States and had a daughter. I decided to move here to be a grandmother to my granddaughter. I learned that Seattle is a big glass district. There are a lot of galleries, exhibitions, everything. Of course, I wanted to continue working with glass,” Momka said.
She moved to Seattle and began applying for jobs with local glass makers. She was eventually hired by Glass Alchemy in Portland to create colorful borosilicate glass for glass artists.
First, a little background: You might picture a glassblower working with molten glass, pulling it with tongs and shaping it into a taffy shape. This type of glass is called soda-lime glass, or “soft glass,” and is most often used in decorative glass sculptures. But that wasn’t the glass Momka was asked to make.
Momka was tasked with making borosilicate glass, or “hard glass.” This material is more difficult to process because it is resistant to high temperatures and therefore requires more energy to produce. Borosilicate glass is more durable, and you probably already have it in your kitchen—Pyrex, for example, uses it to make cookware.
At the time, borosilicate glass had very few color options. “There’s only blues, greens, and dark colors. Everyone wants bright, bright, vibrant colors because they’re not on the market right now,” Momka said. Until recently, glass artists used borosilicate glass to create items like marbles and beads; borosilicate glass has recently seen a resurgence thanks to the cannabis industry.
Developing new glass colors requires a deep understanding of chemical reactions. Testing borosilicate glass is very expensive because it requires a huge amount of energy to make, so Momki had only a few chances to get it right. Fortunately, it took only three tests to achieve the bright orange “crayon color.” Within months of creating Pastel Colors, Momki had become one of the most famous names in glass art.
Since then, Momka and her sons (who helped her found Momka’s Glass) have fielded questions almost daily from other companies and formula developers wanting to know her secret formula for producing richly colored borosilicate glass. Momka is very protective of these formulas: she hasn’t even patented them, because that would make them publicly available to potential imitators. “The formula is our future,” Momka said.
Today, Momka and her sons continue to explore new colors. In Momka’s memory, their mission is to support other women in the glass industry.
Post time: Feb-24-2025