Explore the outdoors in this engraving course inspired by nature. Guided nature walks around the Pilchuck campus and exercises in observation will inspire our studio work focused in the coldshop. This course will concentrate on wheel and bur cameo engraving on Bullseye glass with an introduction to basic fusing. We will also experiment with taking engraving into the field, combining direct experience of the landscape with material exploration. Students can expect to leave with a foundation in the techniques covered, and a connection to the natural environment that defines Pilchuck.

Students will learn how to make blown murrini vessels using colored Bullseye Sheet Glass. I will teach the techniques that I use to make my work. We will look at ways of generating patterns to translate into compositions using stacked colored sheet glass. I will show how to load kilns to fuse sheet glass stacks and how to stretch these into square murrini canes in the hot shop. We will learn different ways to process the canes to prepare them to be formed into vessels. We will go through the process of rolling up the murrini to make blown vessels.

This class will explore kiln-casting and pâte de verre through hands-on making, demonstrations, discussions and lectures. The emphasis will be on color and its phenomenological, symbolic, narrative, scientific and technical aspects. Using Bullseye billets, sheets, frits and powders, we will test different ways of colour application and appearance, then move on to develop individual projects through one-on-one discussion. Lectures, discussions and demonstrations will cover history of colour in glass, optical properties, colour and meaning, model-and mould making, firing and annealing, and cold working.

Art can teach us that an image is a transformative gift, that walls and doorways are the same thing, that what we think is only a fraction of what we know, and that the more deeply engaged we become, the greater the resonance – and the mystery – of our work. Using simple kiln-glass processes, as well as paint, clay, fiber, and the natural beauty of Pilchuck, you’ll develop – and learn to trust – your unique creative process and experience your ever-renewing internal source.