Layered Landscapes

The Yorkshire Dales 

It was such a lovely day at Skipwith Common, near York, to teach Layered Landscapes. The workshop at Silver and Stone is such a pretty place, looking out onto fields with sheep and listening to the birdsong.   Three keen glass artists designed and created fused glass panels based on ideas and drawings of The Yorkshire Dales including trees, hills, water and big skies.  I love the use of dichroic shards on blue glass to emulate water, red glass pieces for poppies and opal grey glass to make Yorkshire stone walls. 

Yorkshire Barn

If you would like to improve your glass fusing skills or learn a new craft from scratch please visit my WORKSHOPS page and my STUDIO DAYS page for more details. 

Jo X

Glass Dishes Workshop

On Saturday 7th November I will be teaching Glass Dishes at The Garth at Skipwith Common, just outside York.  Here is a bit more information about it.

Enjoy a day designing and making a trio of fused glass dishes including trinket dish, curved dish and square dish (13cm square).  Experiment with opal and transparent colour glass, add inclusions such as mica and copper to create sparkle. Stunning results and lots of fun.  No previous experience of glass cutting necessary.  Fees: £80

If you would like to book a place on this one day workshop please click on the link HERE which will take you to Silver and Stone where you can book your place. Any questions about the workshop (or future workshops) please email me HERE

Tealights or trinket dish

Glass coaster workshop

Fused Glass Coasters

On Sunday 11th October I will be teaching a one day workshop on creating your own fused glass coasters.  This will be my first workshop at The Garth, a workshop complex on Skipwith Common, near York, i am booked to teach more of them from October.

There are eight places at this workshop - I like to work with small groups of people to ensure that everyone gets enough tuition and encouragement.  Each student will design and make a set of 4 coasters which are then fired off-site in my kiln and returned, along with rubber bumpons on the base of each coaster. This is aimed at beginners and improvers alike - if you have never cut glass before then this is the ideal project on which to learn.  You don't even need to bring along a design - I can supply you with ideas and inspiration.

To book a place please visit Silver and Stone HERE, you can book on-line or email Helen for more details.  The workshop is from 10am to 3pm and refreshments are provided.  However, it is advisable to bring a packed lunch. There is plenty of free parking. 

All materials are provided but you must wear old clothes or bring an apron. Also, make sure your arms and legs are covered (jeans or trousers) and no open toe sandals please.

Glass Fusing Workshops 2015

Enjoy a day of designing and creating your own glass at our friendly workshops at Lowe Maintenance Training in the heart of Settle, North Yorkshire

Saturday 18th April 2015 10am - 4pm (maximum no: 8)

Creating Glass Coasters

This workshop is aimed at absolute beginners and intermediate glass artists as an introduction to glass fusing.  The workshop will include: cutting skills, technical know-how, working with coloured glass,  designing and glass assembly.   Expert tuition given and  Bullseye glass used.

Saturday 16th May 2015 10am - 4pm (maximum no: 8)

Designing for Glass Jewellery

Aimed at jewellers and anyone with an interest in jewellery, this workshop will enable you to create a pendant, brooch and earring set using both Bullseye and dichroic coated glass. The ability to cut glass will be an advantage.

Costs: £70 (all materials and equipment provided)

Where: Lowe Maintenance Training 18 Duke Street Settle North Yorkshire BD24 9DN

To book: contact Jo Whitehead of Glassprimitif by email to

Jfwhitehead@blueyonder.co.uk or call  07837471040 or find us on Facebook

We accept payment by Paypal, BACS or cheque.  Full payment please, no deposits taken               

                         

Glass Fusing Workshop for Christmas

It's time to think about which handmade gifts you are going to give for Christmas (or keep yourself). Join my exciting glass fusing workshop at Hive Shipley and learn to create your own beautiful decorative glass in a day.

Saturday 23 November 2013 10:00  -  15:00

Fused Glass Lightcatchers and Decorations

A great  introductory workshop for anyone wishing to learn the basics  of glass fusing and also create wonderful Christmas gifts. All materials will be provided.  An additional cost of £3 will be required if you wish to have your glass posted onto you or arrange collection from Hive.  Fee: £48

 Email: Jfwhitehead@blueyonder.co.uk for details and booking  or call 07837471040

HIVE  Kirkgate  Shipley, West Yorkshire BD18 3EH

Glass Workshops in Shipley

Glass Mosaic

I will be teaching two glass workshops this autumn at HIVE in Shipley, aimed at beginners and experienced glass artists alike. 

Saturday 26 October 2013 10:00 - 15:00   Glass Mosaics Workshop

Whether you are an experienced glass artist or beginner this workshop  will take you through the stages of creating a unique piece of art. All materials will be provided although you will need to bring a small picture frame with glass and glue for glass. Fee: £48

 

Fused glass light catchers

Saturday 23 November 2013 10:00  -  15:00 Fused Glass Lightcatchers and Decorations

A great  introductory workshop for anyone wishing to learn the basics  of glass fusing and also create wonderful Christmas gifts. All materials will be provided.  An additional cost of £3 will be required if you wish to have your glass posted onto you or arrange collection from Hive.  Fee: £48

If you are interested in booking on one or both these workshops please email me HERE for further details. 

Crafting for Christmas

Christmas Tree Decorations

I will be teaching another Glass Fusing Workshop at South Square Centre in Thornton on Sunday December 2nd 2012. 

Students will be using copper inclusions, Bullseye glass and copper wire to create their own Light Catchers and Christmas Tree Decorations. 

These fused glass decorations make fantastic gifts and not just for Christmas. Hang the Light Catchers in a window and they will reflect colour back into the room on a sunny day. The ones shown here are my own design but students are welcome to design their own. Perhaps glass penguins or santas or angels? 

Mosaic glass hangings

If you would like to find out more about the workshop you can find it on the South Square blog, Facebook Page or email HERE or call 01274 834747 to book your place. Places are limited to eight people. 

 

Light Catchers

Make Your Own Glass Dishes Workshop

The next Glass Fusing workshop at South Square Centre in Thornton, Bradford will be on Saturday 22nd September and students will have the opportunity to make their own fused glass dishes, using both Bullseye and float glass. 

This workshop is for all abilities so, if you have never cut glass before why not come along and give it a go? Students will make three glass dishes in different sizes:

1. float glass with copper inclusions

2. Bulleye glass trinket dish

3. Bullseye glass deep dish

You will have step by step guidance and help with your design if you need it. Class size is small, no more than eight students will be there and all equipment and materials will be provided. 

To find out more about this workshop and how to enrol by clicking HERE or emailing HERE. I hope you can make it. 

Glass fusing workshop - make dishes

Fused glass dish

Glass Fused Dishes - Glass Fusing Workshop at 
South Square Centre

Aimed at beginners and intermediate glass fusers, this workshop will take you through the processes and skills to create your own glass dishes.

Date:  Saturday 22nd September 2012

Costs: £50 (all materials and equipment provided)

Times: 10:00 to 15:00

Where: South Square Centre, Thornton Road,  Thornton Bradford BD13 3DL

Contact: Jfwhitehead@blueyonder.co.uk or call 07837471040

 What will the workshop cover?

Introduction to glass fusing including: cutting skills, technical know-how, working with coloured glass, designing and glass assembly.   You will be using best quality Bullseye glass from the USA and working in opal and transparent coloured glass.  Hand outs will be given on fusing schedules for future use. All glass will be fused off-site and returned to you.

Lunch: is by your own arrangement. There is an excellent vegetarian cafe at South Square and food is available at The New Inn, next door. There are also several sandwich shops in Thornton.  

Costs: Workshop fees are inclusive of VAT and your payment will secure your place. No deposits will be taken. Your glass will be fused off-site and you may collect it by arrangement from South Square Centre. Alternatively your glass will be returned by post. 

Refunds and cancellations: If you have made a payment but wish to cancel your full payment will be returned to you two weeks before the start of the workshop. However, we will not return payments after 10th September unless we can find a student to replace you.

How to pay: We accept payment by Paypal, BACS or cheque.

So you want to start glass fusing....

Whenever I teach a Beginners' Glass Fusing Workshop there is at least one person who decides that glass fusing is the craft for them and they want to do it NOW.
Then they start to consider the costs of setting up a glass fusing studio and the doubt sets in....

OK, so Glass Fusing isn't a hobby you can do at the kitchen table and then clear away for tea. Also, some of the kit is rather expensive (such as a kiln and grinder) and then there's the long process of learning how to operate the kiln, understanding the way glass behaves in high temperatures and being able to put up with more failures than successes at first. But, if you are committed to a love of all things glass, then most problems can be overcome and the final results of creating something both tactile and beautiful make it all worthwhile. 

I learned to fuse glass in a second hand enamelling kiln and all my guidance came from glass fusing websites in the USA. I learned a lot more by joining a glass team on Etsy and I have gained both lots of knowledge and good friends through the Creative Glass Guild of Etsy. But it has been a long, but enjoyable, journey. 

So, what do you need? 

Tools and Equipment

·   Glass cutter – choose an oil filled one such as a Toyo

·   Grozers – ideal for breaking and nibbling glass

·   Cut Running Pliers – for  breaking large pieces of glass

·   Glass Grinder – electric or hand sanding block or     carborundum stone to smooth edges

·   Permanent marker pen – to draw onto glass

Glass Types

·  Float glass – picture or window glass. Molten glass floated on a bed of molten tin to make a smooth, transparent glass. Quite brittle, fuses at 82COE, has a green tinge after firing

·  Bullseye – softer glass with slightly textured surface and, as it is hand rolled, has imperfections in the surface that disappear when fused. Transparent is easier to cut than opal. Fuses at 90COE, is compatible with Uroboros glass

·   Spectrum 96 – cheaper than Bullseye, smaller range of colours and opals are very bright. 96COE

Glass Fusing Basics
 Glass can be cut on thick mdf or a self healing mat
Always handle large sheets with cotton gloves and store upright. Sheet glass held horizontally will increase pressure on centre of the glass and will fracture
When cutting glass take care not to damage the tungsten carbide wheel of the cutter, practice cutting on scrap pieces of float glass
Keep brushing up glass shards as you work   
Check the water level and temperature of the glass grinder before using
Grind all glass from right to left, taking care not to apply pressure to the diamond head

·  Remember to wear goggles when grinding glass

·  Wash all glass component pieces in hot, soapy water, removing all traces of grease and permanent marker pen. Rinse in hot water and dry well

Jo Whitehead

Glassprimitif

Dichroic Glass Workshop

Student work - dichroic coated Bullseye glass

I recently travelled over to York to teach a one day workshop on dichroic coated glass fusing. I loaded up my car and set off to spend a happy Sunday cutting glass in Helen Drye's kitchen. 
Helen is a silver clay jeweller who was looking to expand her designs by including fused dichroic cabochons placed into silver clay settings. Along with her friend Lynne, who is interested in making dichroic glass jewellery, we went through the processes of designing, cutting, grinding and fusing dichroic coated glass. 

Glass heart

Dichroic coated glass is fabulous to work with because, once fused, the most amazing colours come to life and the glass has a colour shift as it catches the light. This means that it gives a touch of luxury to the wearer, enhancing clothing with flashes of colour. As it is a coating of metal oxides onto a glass surface it is also quite expensive to buy. I buy all mine from Warm Glass as they stock CBS (Coatings by Sandberg) dichroic which has the best colours and patterns.

At the workshop both students made three pieces of glass jewellery each, the first using small pieces fused between black and clear Bullseye glass, the second using dichroic coated glass stringers and the third, a design of their own.  I hope the tuition they received has helped them to think about their own designs and come up with their own style. The possibilities are endless. 


I had a lovely day as Helen plied us with tea and lunch in her lovely garden and I hope they enjoyed it too. If you live in North or West Yorkshire and would like to join a glass fusing workshop please email me HERE for details. Follow Glassprimitif on Facebook to see more Students' Work. 

Glass Fusing Students

Funky Fish Workshop at South Square Centre

I REALLY enjoyed myself last Saturday teaching a workshop on Funky Fused Glass Fish at South Square Centre. I hope the students did too. Nine future glass artists joined the workshop to learn how to design and create their own fused glass fish in both float and Bullseye glass. The workshop covered the basics of cutting glass, grinding, working with both transparent and opal glass and making some delightful fused glass fish. The workshop also covered colour theory, glass types, how glass behaves in a kiln and fusing and annealing. In fact, a comprehensive introduction into the creative and tech side of  warm glass. Here are the results of the workshop - they did a good job!

Bullseye Glass Fish - students' work 

The next workshop at South Square will be Shards, Frits and Stringers on Saturday 4th August. This is an introduction into making glass tiles or coasters with additional glass pieces, powders and rods. At the end of the workshop I will take the students' glass home and fire it in my kiln before posting it back to them. 


I am now arranging the September workshop on Glass Fusing but I'm in a bit of a quandary regarding what to teach. I have a choice of three workshops so I am asking people to vote HERE. I will teach the workshop that gains the most votes. 
The choices are:
1. Dichroic Glass Jewellery using top quality CBS dichroic coated Bullseye glass to make pendants, earrings, brooches, cufflinks - whatever your fancy. Dichroic glass glitters and shimmers in the light and has an amazing colour shift. 
2. Fused Glass Dishes takes students through the process of designing, cutting and creating fused glass dishes in both float and Bullseye glass (examples HERE) that will then be slumped into moulds to form delightful dishes. 
3. Fused Glass Hangings and Light Catchers with copper wire, inclusions, frit and coloured glass. These look fabulous hung in front of a window (see below). 

Fused Glass Hangings

If you are interested in Glass Fusing Workshops at South Square Centre in Thornton, Bradford please email Glassprimitif or contact South Square HERE. 

Fused Glass Fish Forever!

My latest glass commission has been for 15 fused glass fish for a customer in Wisconsin, USA. The customer specified that he wanted the glass to be transparent and for each fish to be different.
Although cutting glass for so many fish is time consuming I really enjoyed making them, selecting the colours and creating stripes, spots and a mixture of both. As the coloured glass is transparent these fish look fabulous when held up to the light. Each fish has a hook so that it can be made into a mobile or a window decoration.

If you would like to learn how to make a funky fused glass fish I will be delivering a glass fusing workshop at South Square Centre Thornton Bradford on Saturday 7th July. There are 10 places available and you can find out more and how to book by clicking on the Workshop tab at the top of the page.