The Workshop
Your tutor, Trisha, is looking forward to meeting you and says: "How do you transform bits of coloured glass into captivatingly beautiful creations through which light will sparkle and delight? ... By fusing it! The heat of a glass kiln will melt the glass together, making a permanent and deliciously tactile work of art. I would love to share the magic of glass fusing with you in this workshop.
At the workshop, you’ll learn how to score and break glass safely and then you’ll move onto creating your own fused glass piece using glass in a variety of forms and colours. Don’t feel nervous about cutting the glass – there will be plenty of pre-cut glass available too.
A vast array of artistic designs and shapes can be made, using all the colours of the rainbow – and your imagination, of course. You can make flat designs such as tiles, coasters and plaques, or your creation can be ‘slumped’ – fired over a shaped mould - to make a bowl, dish, tray or ‘wave’.
The glass comes in various forms: flat sheets of glass to cut to size, cabochons, frit, and confetti. (A cabochon is a pre-fired bead of glass, frit is the term for lots of small pieces of glass and confetti is thin paper-like slivers of glass).
If you have an idea of what you would / may like to create before you come to the workshop please let us know, preferably 2 weeks in advance, and Trisha will endeavour to bring the appropriate colours for you.
As this is a Saturday workshop Trisha is happy for children as young as 9-years-old, who are willing to listen and focus on what they are doing, to join in the glass fun. However they MUST be accompanied by their responsible adult. This adult does not have to also have a ticket if they just want to sit and read or do a jigsaw in our comfy area.
Trisha will need to take your creations away with her and fire them in her kiln. We will then arrange with you when to come and pick them up.
What to bring on the day?
Anticipation to enjoy the whole experience!
Specific to this workshop:
It is essential that you wear closed shoes please, i.e. no sandals or flip-flops – you will be working with small pieces of glass clled frit.
Glass will always be sharp and even if you are taking the utmost care sometimes you may get a small cut on your hand/fingers. If you have an allergy to normal plasters please will you bring your own.
Reading glasses if you need them.
NB: you will be provided with all you need regarding safety, including safety googles, which must be worn when cutting glass.
Please bring your own lunch or some money to buy something from either the hot-food hut nearby or the small local Asda.
What skills are needed?
No experience is necessary. Cutting glass seems scary at first but it is immensly satisfying. If you can hold a pencil you can hold the glass cutting tool. You need a certain degree of finger and upper limb strength but it is totally achieveable with a little practice.
How many places are available?
To ensure the quality of your personal experience, the group size is limited to 10.
What are the timings?
This is an exciting, sparkly, full-day running from 10am to 4pm.
Our purple front door will be open from 9.30am so we can welcome you in, you can get to meet Trisha and your fellow crafters and grab a cuppa before you start.
What is the cost?
£90 + £1.62 card fee. This includes all the materials needed to make your beautiful glass creations, including the subsequent firing required, plus refreshments during the day (excluding lunch). We will be providing drinks and home-made biscuits throughout the day.
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