Fun Friday is a monthly(ish) afternoon class with fun focused projects that are great for adults and older kids alike.
December: Ornaments Ho-Ho-Ho! Deck the halls! (Or your windows!) Make an ornament or sun catcher, such as a holiday tree, snowman, dreidel, or anything wintery you can think of! This class is perfect for beginners to kiln formed glass. Each student will use instructor-supplied materials to make a colorful holiday ornament! This class is suitable for both beginners and experienced students.
December: Holiday Ornament
…………………………………… Jan: Snow Flakes
These snowflakes will never get offended! These flakes will melt your heart, so make your own with us.
Jan: Snow flake
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Feb: Hearts Galore Get ready for Valentine’s Day and make a heart, maybe even give it away…
Feb: Hearts
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Mar: Fishies
Join our Fun Friday class and “swim” in your creativity! These fun fishies have so many possibilities…
Tired of working flat? Want an easy way to get some real depth into your glass? Here’s a fun class where you will learn one of the easiest methods of kilncasting sheet glass to achieve bas-relief sculpture. This incredibly versatile method has endless fine art and architectural applications. In this two day class, we will discuss different types of glass and their firing schedules. Working with color and how it can affect dimensional casting will also be explored. Bring items you may want to cast with this method or choose from our image library. All materials and firings included.
Ever wanted to learn how to weld? Want to impress your friends, your older brother and that cute bartender? It’s easier than you think! In three evenings you will learn how to lay a bead, and handle all sorts of sharp and dangerous tools. You will be able to complete a small project and leave with lots of ideas and know-how for other projects. This class will teach you the basics of welding, metal work and design, joining, bending and finishing. And you will get dirty! Note: Sessions A & C are evening classes. Session B is an afternoon class.
Did you ever wonder about the mosaic art pieces you may have seen in archeological sites? Mosaics is one of the most beautiful and ancient ways to create art and express ideas. There are several materials that can be used to create mosaics. In this class, you will be able to learn different techniques to create your own mosaic art that will endure the passing of time. You will learn how to prepare a mosaic substrate, learn to cut glass, design and finish 2 plaques of 8 by 8 inches on your own.
Most of the work will be done on the first workshop day. The mosaic has to truly dry before applying grout, therefore, we will meet the next day to apply the grout and do final touches.
As highlighted in Washingtonian Magazine – Our most popular class, this is the fastest way to learn all aspects of warm glass in the shortest amount of time! Under the supervision of a professional glass artist you will learn the fundamentals of fusing, slumping and dimensional kiln casting. Everything from bowls and plates to sculptural objects… this is the perfect way for a beginner to learn the basics of glass… and you will leave with several very cool items!
This is your chance to venture into making a piece of furniture for your home. You will cast or fuse an incredibly cool glass top to create the table of your own design. You will get an introduction to welding and then cut and weld a steel frame to finish your one-of-a-kind piece. No prior welding or glass experience is needed but not discouraged. This is a 4-night session class.
In two sessions, you’ll create a distinctive sushi plate using a unique pattern bar technique. Your choices along the way will explore the capacities of glass as a creative medium: Selecting colors—opaque, transparent, both? Cutting and layering shapes—bits and strips, irregular or not, deliberate or random? We’ll discuss the basics of firing schedules, safety procedures, and some of glass’s distinctive properties; work with glass cutting hand tools, chop saw, and belt sander; deal with serendipity; and keep your project together through multiple firings.
Class-size is limited; prior experience with glass fusing is a good idea.
Erwin Timmers instructs one of the lighting class students.
Erwin Timmer’s artistic lighting class these past few weeks brought some serious color to the studio – really brightening up the studio!
Over the three week class, students completed a number of lighting designs, ranging from pendant to wall sconces and table lamps. Great to see how each created functional art that reflected the tastes and aesthetics of each of the artists. This was certainly a class that put forth the effort in the design!
Vibha’s glass design was dazzling!
Students designed and made the glass as well as assembled the mounting hardware.
Louis Comfort Tiffany would have been jealous of the glass created for the light fixture.
Jerrelee loves her light fixture that relates to her artwork.
In time for a leisurely read during the holiday break – the January – April 2013 Washington Glass School class schedule! _________________________________________________ scroll down to bottom to pay deposit online via PayPal.
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Class 1350 – Beginner’s Glass Lover’s Weekend
Our most popular class, this is the fastest way to learn all aspects of warm glass in the shortest amount of time! Under the supervision of a professional glass artist you will learn the fundamentals of fusing, slumping and dimensional kiln casting. Everything from bowls and plates to sculptural objects… this is the perfect way for a beginner to learn the basics of glass… and you will leave with several very cool items! Offered 2 times in the session.
Instructors Audrey Wilson Dates Session A – Sat/Sun Feb 16 & 17 Session B – Sat/Sun Apr. 6 & 7 Time 1pm to 5pm each day _____________________________________________ Class 1351 – Bas Relief In Glass (Deep Relief Dry Plaster Casting)
Tired of working flat? Want an easy way to get some real depth into your glass? Here’s a fun class where you will learn one of the easiest methods of kilncasting sheet glass to achieve bas-relief sculpture. This incredibly versatile method has endless fine art and architectural applications. In this two day class, we will discuss different types of glass and their firing schedules. Working with color and how it can affect dimensional casting will also be explored. Bring items you may want to cast with this method or choose from our image library. All materials and firings included.
Instructor: Michael Janis
Dates : Sat afternoons Feb 2, 9
Time : 2pm to 5pm
Tuition : $350 per student (all materials included)
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Class 1352 - MIG Welding for Dummies!
Ever wondered about learning to weld? Want to impress your friends, your older brother and that cute bartender? It's easier than you think! In three evenings you will learn how to lay a bead, and handle all sorts of sharp and dangerous tools. You will be able to complete a small project and leave with lots of ideas and know-how for other projects. This class will teach you the basics of welding, metal work and design, joining, bending and finishing. And you will get dirty!
Instructor : Erwin Timmers Dates : Session A : Wed. eves in January (9, 16, 23)
Session B : Wed. eves in April (10, 17, 24)
Time : 7pm to 9:30 pm Tuition : $350 per student
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Class 1353 - Architectural and Industrial Lighting Design
The transmission of light is one of the most compelling features of glass. Using recycled found metal objects and architectural elements, this class will highlight several glass techniques including kiln casting and fusing/slumping sheet glass. You will also learn the basics of safe wiring and electricity. Some glass experience is helpful, but not necessary. Electrical experience is not required. This will be a fun class with lots of hands on projects. As part of this class, we will discuss LED's, light panels, fluorescent and incandescent sources.
Instructor: Erwin Timmers / Tim Tate
Dates: Sunday afternoons in March (3, 10, 17)
with open studios on Wed. eves in March (3, 13, 20).
Time: Class : Sundays - 1pm to 4pm
Open Studios : Wed. 7pm to 9:30pm
Tuition: $450
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Class 1354 - More Welding!
Now that you've tried your hand at MIG welding, the hot glue gun of the metal shop, why not expand your horizons? We will offer a truck load of new techniques. You can compare welding stainless steel vs. aluminum, and pit the plasma cutter vs. oxy-acetylene. You will also improve your MIG skills, and spend more time on grinding, polishing, finishing and patinas. Bring ideas for a small project and you'll walk home with it. Remember--this is a real, live, active, working shop. You will get dirty. Wear closed toed shoes and long pants.
Pre-requisite: At least one MIG welding class or equivalent.
Instructor Erwin Timmers
Dates Wed. evenings in Feb (6, 13, 20)
Time 7pm - 9:30pm
Tuition $350 (all materials provided)
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Class 1355 - Pate De Verre with Audrey Wilson
This is a rare opportunity to learn Audrey's own unique style of pate de verre, which is described as alive with energy and effervescent shapes that evoke emotion - just like Audrey herself!
Pate de verre is an ancient and widely varied art form using glass powders and frits melted, fused, and cast at different and specific temperatures to achieve a variety of results in glass. Although her own style is to work intuitively, Audrey will provide a solid base of technical information and a straightforward approach that can easily be accomplished in the studio. Students will learn how to create two open faced bowl forms.
A reliquary is a receptacle for keeping and displaying sacred objects (relics). In Victorian times, bell jars (cylindrical glass vessels with a rounded top and an open base) were used to protect and display fragile objects.
The artwork reliquaries of ceramic sculptor Novie Trump and mixed media sculptor Tim Tate are filled with meaning, symbolism, and are powerfully evocative. Both artists work seem inspired by an almost obsessive sense of remembrance.
One might ask: How do they make such introspective & complex works – and more importantly, how are their processes applicable for other artists looking to reference our need to create spaces for the things we hold dear?
The two DC area superstar sculptors have teamed up to teach a special sculpture class – Elements of 21st Century Reliquaries.
Novie draws on her archeology training as she creates ceramic houses, books, birds, boats and reliquaries, many that look as though they might have been unearthed on an archeological dig. She explores ideas of nest/hive/home over and over in the work.
“…I often use archetypal symbols taken from ancient myths and tales. These iconic images take many forms: the bird as harbinger and messenger, bones as touchstones of quiet power, the forest as a threshold to the unknown. These symbols are used to express such universal human experiences as love, loss, fear, death, courage and transformation.” Novie Trump
Mixed media/video artist Tim Tate uses blown glass jars to capture universal emotions and experiences with haunting video reliquaries that push the boundaries between fine art and fine craft. Tim’s sculptures ask you to surrender your guarded self and feel the range of emotions that they provoke.
“Revelation — and in some cases self-revelation, is the underlying theme of my electronic reliquaries. But the important revelations here are in the viewer’s response to my hybrid art form and its conceptual nature. I try to bare everything — the guts of my materials and my inner thoughts — in deceptively simple narrative videos set into specimen jars. These works are phylacteries of sorts, the transparent reliquaries in which bits of saints’ bones or hair — relics — are displayed. In many cultures and religions, relics are believed to have magical or spiritual powers, especially for healing. My relics are temporal, sounds and moving images formally enshrined, encapsulating experiences like cultural specimens. And perhaps, to the contemporary soul, they are no less reliquaries than those containing the bones of a saint.”Tim Tate
Reliquaries with internal healing objects have been important cultural objects for centuries. They have been made with a wide variety of materials. But what makes a reliquary in the 21st century? What elements can go inside? Which materials seem most appropriate in modern times? In this class we will utilize clay and glass to explore current concepts in reliquary forms. This class will be split between a clay and kiln cast glass studio, allowing each participant the use of both materials and many techniques. There will be a wine and cheese reception at the end of this workshop to allow friends to see the work in a professional setting.
Instructor
Tim Tate, Novie Trump
Dates
Sat/Suns in July/Aug (July 14,15,21,22,28,Aug 4,11)
Time
1pm to 5pm
$600
Interested? Click HERE to jump to the Washington Glass School online schedule.
Novie Trump is a sculptor whose work is in public and private collections throughout the United States and Europe. Her ceramic sculpture has been selected for juried and invitational exhibitions and has been featured in books and publications. She is the founder and director of Flux Studios, a studio in Mount Rainier, MD
Tim Tate is a Washington, DC native, and has been working with glass as a sculptural medium for the past 25 years. Co-Founder of the Washington Glass School, Tim’s work is in the permanent collections of a number of museums, including the Smithsonian’s American Art Museum, Renwick Gallery and the Mint Museum. He was the recipient of the 2009 Virginia Groot Foundation award for sculpture. He is a 2012 Fulbright Scholar recipient and was Artist-In-Residence at the Institute for International Glass Research (IIRG) in the UK.
