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. 

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. 

Glass Fusing Courses and Workshops in the UK

Liquid Glass Centre, Trowbridge, Wilts.
Weekend workshops and occasional Monday workshop on the following:
glass blowing, fusing and slumping, bead making and other kiln techniques. Prices range from £145 for a one day workshop to £545 for a week at summer/winter school. Workshops held all year. Contact Liquid Glass for more details.
www.liquidglasscentre.co.uk
Tel: 01225 768888
Email: info@liquidglasscentre.co.uk

Bucks & Chilterns University College High Wycombe Bucks
Evening course in kiln formed glass from Autumn 2007. Fees: £150, some materials provided. Suit experienced glass students. A CV and 3 images required on application (is this a course or a submission???) Contact Jacque Pavlovsky for more details.
Tel: 01844 345498
Email: pavlovsky@btinternet.com

Northlands Creative Glass Caithness Scotland
Bullseye Masterclass - kiln casting techniques. 30 June to 8 July 2007. Fees: £785
Kiln casting Masterclass. 22 August to 30 August 2007. Fees: £785
Glass blowing Masterclass. 25 August to 30 August 2007. Fees: £580
Cold working Masterclass - stained glass. 4 September to 12 September 2007. Fees: £785
Glass blowing Masterclass - hot sculpture. 4 September to 12 September 2007. Fees: £825
Reduced fee for full time students: £110
www.northlandsglass.com
Tel: 01593 721229
Email: info@northlandsglass.com

The Good Shepherd Stained Glass Studio Seaton Devon
5 week beginners creative kiln techniques course - includes fusing, slumping and sagging. From Monday 4th June 2007. 7pm to 9pm.
www.annpengelly-stainedglass.co.uk
Tel: 0129 21443
Email: info@annpengelly-stainedglass.co.uk

Glass Dreams East Sussex
Fusing and slumping workshops. Thursday 12 July, Friday 13 July, Saturday 14 July, Sunday 15 July 2007. £6 per hour, including materials.
www.glassdreams.eu
Tel: 01435 866547
Email: alan@glassdreams.eu

Favriles Southend on Sea Essex
10 week Glass fusing courses by arrangement at 2 hours per week. £150 including materials.
www.favriles.co.uk
Tel: 01702 416153
Email: mail@favriles.co.uk

Lorraine Cole Southsea Portsmouth Hants
Fused glass lessons from Monday to Saturday 10am - 4pm by arrangement. £140 including materials.
www.glass-workshop.co.uk
Tel: 02392 297741
Email: info@glass-workshop.co.uk

Sunderland School of Art, Design etc, Sunderland
Courses on hot glass, kiln glass, architectural and stained glass. School uses facilities at National Glass Centre (see below). (A really bad website to navigate and poor information)
www.sunderland.ac.uk
For details contact Professor Peter Davies.
Tel: 0191 5153653

National Glass Centre, Sunderland
Glass blowing sessions. Prebook. £150 for half day.
www.nationalglasscentre.com
Tel: 0191 5155555
Email: info@nationalglasscentre.com

More to follow......