Bring your ideas to this foundation-level glassblowing class. The fundamentals of the craft—gathering, marvering, turning, and teamwork—will be approached through exercises, culminating in self-directed projects. Students will work together to realize each other’s vision. There will be plenty of hands-on instruction and collaboration while also leaving room for play, a critical component of creativity.

Montessori concepts such as Practical, Sensorial, and Cultural will serve as a lens through which glass is explored as a sculptural material. Specific exercises will be assigned, initially, when new techniques and tools are introduced. Otherwise, students will work on their own self-directed projects. We will be working in the hot shop: blowing and casting; the kiln shop (studio building): slumping and fusing; the cold shop; and a brief time in the Bot Lab.

This workshop will focus on the foundations of glassblowing, leading into color experimentation and the use of handmade blow molds. An emphasis will be placed on proper body mechanics, best practices, and communication in the hot shop to create a safe, shared, and collaborative space. Students will be introduced to two-part plaster blow molds and learn proper bubble set-up for successful outcomes.

In this workshop, students will use a combination of kiln-casting, kiln-forming, cold-working and construction techniques, exploring and developing a sculptural and narrative dialogue of glass through, and in combination with, found and personal objects, materials, and textures. Students will develop and bring their own ‘vocabulary’ to the creative process, culminating in both their own individual pieces and a collaborative project. We will explore methods of model construction, simple rubber molds to create multiples, open face molds and lost wax processes. Demonstrations, discussions, troubleshooting, experimentation and play provide the space for learning kiln glass fundamentals.

In this course, students will learn how to use borosilicate glass to create functional glass pipes at the torch. Through demonstrations and hands-on-experience, students will gain the solid foundation of skills needed to make their own functional pipes, covering everything from a basic one-hitter to complex multi-sectional pieces. Students will learn shaping, color techniques, proper seals, and fuming. Bring your ideas and let's have some fun!