Turning Trash into Art at Commack’s Paint-A-Piece

At Commack’s Paint-A-Piece, used wine bottles aren’t just recycled; they’re turned into works of art.

Using a technique called slumping, glass bottles are heated to very high temperatures and melted down either flat or around a mold to create shapes. The wine bottles can be decorated with other pieces of colored glass or stamps to create unique, glass fusion creations and personalized items such as cheese trays, cutting boards, spoon holders or other items.

The way it works is simple. A customer can bring in any wine bottle, cleaned and with the labels removed. The bottle is then decorated and put into a kiln. Over a matter of several hours, the glass is heated and slowly cooled within the kiln, with the temperature reaching up to 1,425 degrees. Once cooled, the wine bottle can be removed and voila, a brand new table piece to brighten up a kitchen.

Glass slumping has become a popular trend in the store, especially with regular customers, Paint-A-Piece owner Stephanie Giardina said. 

"As soon as the regulars saw this, they were like 'We're doing this!'" she said.