A class in glass

How do you spend a Saturday afternoon?

 

Mine was a lovely afternoon spent with 2 goodfriends. Although we have known each other for a while neither of them had ever had any experience of working in glass!
Well, I thought I better get that fixed!

 

So I invited Cal and Mel around for afternoon tea and a workshop in glass.

 

Having spent the first 20 mins trying to get a decent photograph of us in the room together (you see despite us working together, everything we do is arranged together online and we are rarely in the same room altogether at the same time, so we felt it deserved a photograph!).

Finally settled the workshop began.

Step one was to decide exactly what they wanted to creat in their glass image and then to map out in a rough sketch their ideas, we’d spoken about trees and a small scene involving a tree so that’s the first option covered.

Using a square with the same proprtions the image was created in pencil first.

 

Then the fun commenced.

 

I explained we would be creating a sandwich in glass. I know, funny right. But there are 2 layers in the fused glass. The bottom layer of clear glass, the image that’s created using various media, copper, brass, aluminium foil and glass eggshell, powder or frit and the top clear layer which will sandwich it all together. Once fused it will then appear as one piece of glass.

They were also given the option to choose if it would be a hanging piece or a piece of art that would be placed on a surface.

 

Having explained the materials that can be used within the glass and that they could use a maximum of 3 colours (otherwise it looks like a car crash) , they were off!.

 

More than anything I love watching people work and having fun in a medium they have never tried before.

It certainly kept them quiet, the concentration was amazing.

 

We talked about the colours and how some appear to be one colour, but when they reach a certain temperature in the kiln they “strike” and become the true colour. We talked about the metal inclusions we could use and the effects they would have in the glass, did a lot of singing to Bananrama (well I did) drank tea, and generally had a thoroughly good time!!

 

 

 

 

So what’s next?

Well they are being lovingly fired in the kiln.

For most people this is the exciting part, the build up of suspense as they wait for the finished result! (or frustration because they don’t want to wait at elast 24 hours to see the result!).

24 hours later all will be revealed.

 

I asked Mel and Cal if they’d enjoyed the workshop and what they thought about it all.

Mel said, “I really enjoyed it. It’s good to do something creative in a different medium.”

Amongst many hilarious things Cal said, “I liked spending time with people who were being creative. I liked the chance to do something completely new.”

 

You can watch the video below. (it’s worth it I promise, hilarious when I watched it back. At least they didn’t record me live when I was singing!)

 

SO what would YOU like to create in GLASS?
I have several workshop opportunities over the next few months local to me, more info here

SIGN UP TO MY WORKSHOP INFO HERE 

or book an event HERE

However if you want to have a go but don’t want to come to me, how about I come to you?

Send an email to emma@emmakirkhamglass.com  requesting workshop visits on site. These can be for work days, if you want to liven up the office, bring the team together for some fun or reward everyone for their hard work in a totally different way. It can be at a local group you run, WI, Rotary Club etc or how about teaching the children something new at your school?

Or a private party, a celebration that requires something unusual , with a unique reminder of the day.

NOW all we have to do is wait for the finished results!

 

 

24 HOURS LATER HERE’S THE RESULTS

 

 

 

You can really see the difference in colours once fired!