This class invites you to understand the delicate craft of engraving glass, and harnessing light and shadow to create captivating compositions as well as carving through layers of glass (cameo engraving). In the vitreography (glass print) portion of the class, students will dive into the fusion of printmaking and glass carving, learning to create prints through a process that combines traditional printmaking techniques with the unique translucence of glass as a medium.

Students will devise ways for blown glass objects and neon light to interact, augment, inform and disrupt one another. Demonstrations on foundational techniques in neon tube bending and installation will accompany time spent in the hot shop, blowing glass and playing with color. Creative prompts will bring these explorations together into assemblages that record gesture and cultivate wonder.

Tell a story in images using classical stained glass, fusing and screen printing techniques. Students will learn the fundamentals—traditional glass painting, fusing and screen printing—to develop and create their own glass pictures. Using photos from family albums, graphics from newspapers and magazines, and/or from imaginations, students will make collage projects to be used as the starting point for glass artworks, bringing the past and present together.

Karen and Jasen plan on sharing their extensive knowledge of different techniques that can be for sculpting glass at the furnace. They plan to cover as much information as possible in this two-week class. Extra emphasis will be put on learning about colors that can help with realizing your concepts. Plan on working hard as a team and you will learn a huge amount about hot glass sculpting.

This hot shop-focused class will (re)discover and define the emotive qualities of glass through an analytical approach to the material’s formal properties. Through daily discussions and explorations of technical glassmaking concepts, students will create compositions reliant on assemblage, color application and optics. Cold-working will assist in the process, and development, planning, drawing, and record-keeping will be emphasized.

Experimental approaches combining glass and mixed media will be emphasized as students learn hollow core and solid casting along with basics of Paté de verre. We will explore silicone and plaster mold making to create components and multiples. Then, we will explore ways to combine components as fired inclusions or as cold connections. We will troubleshoot integrating mixed media.