Fused Glass Update and dates for Fall Classes at Coleman

Hello Everyone! Its been quite awhile since my last blog posting. At the end of May I had a health issue which took me off course for a couple of months. Thankfully, I am back in the swing of things and full of fusing energy.

Beautiful pendant made my the mom of one of my students!

I was able to finish the classes from the Spring session and wait to you see all the  fun, colorful pieces the kids made. Everyone really seemed to be in the groove and excited by the possibilities of glass fusing.

Check out some of the photos from last session. I was really inspired by the creativity shown by the students and the talent they all had in translating their internal design visions to their actual pieces. One of the most gratifying things to watch with the students is the awe they express when they see their finished pieces.

hooks with fused glass panels

frame assembly

This past session the student collaborative piece was a super fun project that used the students hand prints.  We ended up doing this project twice. The first time the platter cracked. Total bummer...but in glass fusing, usually our lemons can be made into lemonade....I was able to cut out some of the prints and make little hangings of the hand prints the student could hang up at home.

Second platter 

The hand print platter entails using student hand prints  fused into glass using a special material called fiber paper. Hand prints were traced onto the fiber paper which was then layered onto the glass and fired. The glass sags around the fiber paper leaving a relief of the hand print after firing. We used glass frit(ground glass) to fill the hand prints.

try try again-making of the 2nd platter 

1st platter attempt

hand prints refired into wall hangings 

What caused the glass to break? Too much frit stressed the glass.
A good lesson! The second platter stressed and broke up as well but I was able to refire it. As you can see, it came out pretty with a little extra character...

For the last project students made plant stands. Decorative glass posts to add a little pop to plants.

decorative plant stands

I am pleased to announce that I will be teaching again at Coleman in the Fall. 
2  sessions (5 classes per session)
Dates: 1st session begins on 9/23 
             2nd session begins on 11/4
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More info about classes in next posting... 
Check out previous posts for more information...

student made sushi plates

fused glass frames -student made

 groovy magnets!

hook with fused glass panel

earrings by student