Kiln Formed Glass Classes
March 4, 5, 6 & 7, 2010 – 4 – One Day Mix and Match Classes
(Take any one class for $225 or any two classes for $395, any three classes for $525 or all fours classes for $595.)
March 4, Thursday – “Fusing with Enamels” with Carmen Reynolds
A look into adding enameled elements into your fusing.
March 5, Friday – “Intermediate fusing: gaining control” with Carmen Reynolds
Stop guessing how your piece will look when it comes out of the kiln. In this class we will go over fusing principles that will enable you control your glass in the kiln.
March 6, Saturday – “Liquid stringer medium” with Gil Reynolds
Learn how to use, fire and mix frit and powders with liquid stringer medium to get perfect piping, cold combing and glass clay.
March 7, Sunday – “Pate-de-verre” with Gil Reynolds
Make a high temperature and cast glass frits and powders into it to make a solid piece of art glass.
Three Day Classes
April 2, 3 & 4, 2010 – “Thermal formed glass” with Gil Reynolds
The term thermal formed glass refers to ‘shaping glass with heat’ and often involves the use of several distinct heat processes to produce a finished piece of art glass. This class will have a bit of a ‘three ring circus’ atmosphere as students learn ways to integrate kilns, torches and fire bucket techniques to create specific visual effects.
The kilns activities will combine advanced fusing processes such as ‘combing,’ ‘mosaic,’ ‘reverse firing,’ ‘inlay’ and ‘pate-de-verre’ techniques. Pate-de-verre is an ancient frit casting technique used to make sculptural and 3-dimensional glass objects. Crushed glass is placed in special molds and fired until it becomes a solid. Time will also be spent exploring the latest advances in kiln forming techniques such as glass clay, cold combing and liquid stringer techniques.
This class will cover investment and mold making materials, types of glass, compatibility, kiln firing schedules, annealing, and using enamels in cast glass.
Students will also have hands-on experience using a torch and the murphy fire bucket, a 2150° furnace used to do the molten glass dance. We will start by making twists and stringers to get a feel for the process then advance to pattern bars and eventually paper weights. Gil's informative and humorous banter makes this class an educational delight. This is a great class to take if you want to move beyond the basic “cut, stack and fire” approach to fusing. a guaranteed exciting weekend for all levels of glass experience.
Space is limited to 12 students.
10:am – 4:pm
Three days – April 2, 3, & 4, 2010
$450
April 30, May 1, 2, 2010 – “Creative repetition with fused pattern bars” with Carmen Reynolds
Kiln formed pattern bars have had a resurgence since glass blowers started picking them up to enhance their forms. I’ve been using them in my fused work for over 20 years and because of numerous requests, I’m offering a class to share what I’ve learned over the years.
I first started making pattern bars because it was a fun way to use up all the scraps we had. The lessons I learned were inspirational. That’s where we’ll start on day 1 of this class, making bars from odds and ends. Once you see what happens when you act randomly you can then start to understand how to control the patterns. Day 2 begins here, a more structured pattern design. After we have designed our pattern bar and get it firing, we’ll slice up the bars we made the previous day and incorporate them into some fused work. Once you’ve learned how to make pattern bars, then you need to explore how to use them and that is exactly what day 3 is all about, designing art glass with pattern bars. We will slice our bars, explore designs and fire another piece.
When you are finished with this class you will have a greater understanding how to design kiln formed pattern bars, create with the slices, use a saw to slice them and execute the firing schedules. You’ll make three different pattern bars, fuse two complete pieces and slump one.
You need to have a pretty solid knowledge of fusing to understand the process in this class. It is limited to 8 students. The cost is $450 and includes all the supplies you’ll use in class. You will need to bring your own tools. The class runs from 9am – 4pm(ish) each day. If you have more questions please feel free to call me at (503) 538-5281.
503.538.5281
