AJGlass

These two workshops in Michigan are open to interested individuals of all ages – 13 years and older – and all experience levels from beginners to advanced.


Marbles:

There truly is something special about spheres – especially small glass spheres. Students will start out making simple round spheres and then move on to swirls, gold leaf, millefiori, and dichroic marbles.


Beadmaking:

Emphasis will be on making symmetrical beads and using various decorating techniques such as dots, gold leaf, twisties, millefiori, pixie dust, etc.


Both workshops are hands-on. Each person will have a complete set of tools and a torch to use. New techniques will be introduced via demonstrations which will be kept to a minimum to allow as much torch time as possible.


Examples of Glass Pieces Made in the Beadmaking Workshop:

I have taken the Bead-Making Workshop several times and found it to be extremely interesting and engaging. I recommend that anyone who wants to learn flameworking/lampworking seriously consider enrolling if you can.






Instructor:

Dr. Don Miller, faculty member in the Department of Natural Sciences at the University of Michigan-Dearborn.

Dr. Miller is a beadmaker who has been teaching bead-making at UM-D for over ten years.


Place :

The University of Michigan-Dearborn
Department of Natural Sciences
4901 Evergreen Road
Dearborn, Michigan, USA
48128-1491


Times:

The Marble Workshop meets on Friday evenings from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. for 6 weeks starting May 9, 2008. The lab will be open starting at 4:00 p.m. for additional torch time. The instruction in the Friday evening session will be exclusively marbles.

The Beginning Beadmaking Workshop meets on Saturday mornings from 9:00 a.m. to12:00 p.m. for 6 weeks starting May 10, 2008. The lab will stay open until 2:00 p.m. for additional torch time. The instruction in the Saturday morning session will be exclusively beginning beadmaking.

   (No meetings May 23 & 24)

Experienced students are welcome to sign up for either Friday or Saturday times and work on their own.


Cost:

Cost for the 6 weeks is $200. This includes all instructional and material fees - including glass. Make check or money order payable to: University of Michigan-Dearborn. Mastercard and Visa also accepted.


Contact:

Enrollment is limited and is handled on a first-come first-served basis. If you would like to sign up for either workshop, if you have any questions, or if you have special needs, please contact the instructor, Dr. Don Miller, at (313) 593-5262 or e-mail at drmiller@umd.umich.edu

Hot Glass Artisans

Art rarely gets hotter than this!


About hot glass:

Making items out of hot glass is more difficult then making those same items out of other, more easily manipulated, materials. Unlike conventional clay, or fimo, filo, metal, stone, paint and fabric, working with hot glass takes an entirely hands-off technique. Touching glass when molten will produce instant second degree burns (or worse) so the urge to reach out with a hand and grab it while hot is strongly discouraged, though hard at times to resist. Thankfully there are many tools which can be used in place of hands with which to work hot glass.


About oxides in glass:

Colors in glass are created by adding trace metal oxides to various mixtures of ingredients such as lime, sand, and soda. Oxides can include gold (for red), copper (for green), cobalt (for blue), etc. Adding oxides can also change the stiffness of the glass and how much heat is needed to melt it. The oxides can also affect how different colored glasses react with each other – there being chemical reactions between certain colors and not between others.


About glass types:

Moretti/Effetre, Vetrofond, and Lausha are soft glasses – meaning that they melt at a relatively low temperature and stay soft and workable for a long period of time. This is in contrast to Borosilicate and Pyrex which are harder, higher temperature, stiffer glasses and Japanese Satake which is a softer, lower temperature, more watery glass. Each type of glass has a different coefficient of expansion (COE) meaning each glass when heated or cooled will expand and contract to a different degree. Thus a piece cannot be made by mixing Moretti and Pyrex glass as they have different COE’s and will literally break away from each other when cooled.


There are several ways to heat glass:

Using a furnace:

 _{from-time-to-time               godimas}


Using a torch:
:thumb68100229:
 _{lovefulheights                     NarcoticsAnonymous}


Using a kiln:

 _AJGlass


In my opinion, there are few things as mesmerizing as watching glass melt. The warmth, liquidity, and glow of molten glass are extremely addictive. Working with hot glass can be both enjoyable and stressful at the same time depending on what the artist is trying to achieve.



Presenting dA artisans who work with hot glass:



:thumb70692687:
aerobat



:thumb70360666:
UniquelyYours




johnnymartin




catwhoplayswithglass




ellyloo




DragonFireAA




BonsaiHinoki




pipingplover




this-side-upsid-down



:thumb59905133:  
glazzdoll




eerok1955




darkfire734




zincks




twistedglass96




free-zero




AntiSocialis




fragilecraft




godofsilica



:thumb27653304:
godgolden




from-time-to-time




Guenna



:thumb62691640:
lisaluera




scathode




chenghsin




froggynaan




blusquirrel




LaughingTree




Xj0nNAyX




giglemaniac




njadean




jesseengland




lovefulheights




MidniteFireFaerie



:thumb40124661:
bellydancer




honeywine




fyrsmith




SPIglassStudio




NorthwindStudio




scott-451




WeirdPeanut




GlassElation




kagamiko




AJGlass