THE work was dangerous and exhausting, the fierce glow of the furnaces raised temperatures to unbearable levels and the risk of failure was high.

Yet at the end of the working day, when the glassmakers’ job was done, the temptation to create something beautiful from the remnants of their toil proved too much for some to ignore.

In red-hot 17th and 18th-century glassmaking factories across Scotland where everyday bottles, jars, jugs and goblets were produced in vast quantities, leftover glass retrieved from the furnace was played with, twisted and moulded into pretty, decorative and unique objects intended to be simply admired.

Now the creativity and skills of a modern generation of glass artists who blend the traditional glassmaking methods of the past with new processes and technology, are to be celebrated in two new free exhibitions which mark the 40th anniversary of the Scottish Glass Society.

A juried exhibition, On The Edge, at the Trades Hall in Glasgow this month, will showcase works from 18 leading Scots artists, who specialise in turning the same raw ingredients used for centuries to make glass, into striking contemporary works of art.

READ MORE: Scotland's glass industry still thriving after more than 300 years

The art on show includes pieces created with techniques that would have baffled the glassmakers of 300 years ago, such as an intricately crocheted doily created by Inverness-based artist Catherine Carr, who hand knits or crochets with glass before heating it and manipulating it in her kilns, and a sequence of glass panels created by Alison Kinnaird – one of the world’s leading glass artists and engravers – which uses LED light and dichroic colour.

Running alongside will be a second open exhibition which will include works by more than 25 of the society’s members on the theme of “celebration”, which will showcase a range of different glass making techniques and forms.

There will also be a series of glass exhibitions at galleries across Scotland, accompanied by talks and presentations.

Catherine Lowe, chairwoman of the Scottish Glass Society, said: “Our membership includes some of the most innovative and skilled glass artists, and what you see in this exhibition is a vibrant and diverse group of highly visual work all using glass as the primary artistic material. The diversity of techniques that can be applied to using glass and how glass can be used to create art are vast.”

Glassmaking in Scotland became a thriving industry from 1610 when King James VI granted the first patent to make glass to George Hay.

Hay’s monopoly on glass manufacture saw it grow to become the country’s earliest manufacturing industry, with highly skilled glassmakers lured to Scotland from abroad with the promise of high wages in return for passing on their skills. Glassworks sprang up in towns with harbours such as Leith and Kirkcaldy – where kelp from the Western Isles and Orkney was delivered to help with the glassmaking process – while Alloa’s proximity to a sand quarry at Devilla in Fife and demand from local brewers saw a glassworks founded in 1750.

The glassworks at Dumbarton emerged in 1777 and went on to produce 92 per cent of all approved glass in Scotland and more than one-third in England.

Its crown glass was used for windows and was made using a blowpipe technique, the glass spun rapidly until it created a disk-shaped that could be cut into panes.

At its height, the glassworks owned five coal works, four tramways, two structures to help moor vessels, two bottle works, a brewery, a farm and seven sailing vessels.

Ms Lowe added: “At the end of the day when the glass was left in the furnace, the glassmakers were given free rein to use it. They used it to make little pieces of art and produced anything from sailing ships with rigging to barley twist canes that were like little walking sticks.

“Some survive, and while they look fragile but they have lasted for more than 200 years – an incredible feat.”

READ MORE: Scotland's glass industry still thriving after more than 300 years

Their work laid the foundations for today’s glass artists who have incorporated modern technology to the traditional task of making glass.

Featuring in the juried exhibition is a vividly coloured stained glass window by Pinkie Maclure which might at first glance be familiar to glassmakers of centuries ago, but which combines painting, engraving, sandblasting, glass beads and diamond filing to create its striking effect.

While in years gone by the distinctive glasswork cone chimneys could be seen for miles, glassmaking in Scotland went into rapid decline as cheaper imports arrived.

The skill of the glassmaker became confined to a handful of companies such as Caithness Glass in Crieff, while crystal glass manufacturers such as Edinburgh Crystal which was founded in the 1860s, faded from the landscape in 2006.

Ms Lowe added: “It is now difficult for people to see glass being made, however, there is a lot of artists working in studios behind closed doors making their glass. They are using technology in design or in diamond cutting instruments to cut their glass more precisely, machines can help to finish glass and polish to a high standard which wasn’t available 100 years ago.”

The Scottish Glass Society’s two open exhibitions at the Trade Halls – home of Trades House which brings together the crafts in the city – will run from September 18 to 25.