Saturday Glass Class, in which I get started

When Signe and I were driving back from the Charlotte, she invited me to go to a glass workshop she'd learned about. It was a 2 day workshop and you got to make coasters, a pendant, a bowl and a window hanging.

We signed up.

Below is the classroom.

Supplies line the walls. Supplies of any sort make me happy, but supplies with color make me really happy.

We learned about the types of glass, that all the glass one uses for a piece must have the same COE so that they melt and cool at the same rates, the various forms glass comes in and to pick your hand up and move it on a piece of glass, never slide your hand along an edge. Makes you cringe just to think of it, yes? We learned about all the types of cutters and when to use them. All the while, our instructor, Jen, was demonstrating and making it look easy.

Then it was time to practice on float glass - think scratch paper. Signe went first.

Then it was time to create our first project: coasters. We took an 8" x 8" square of glass and cut four 4" x 4" squares. Then we got to select one colored piece of glass, and were shown where the odds and ends were to select accent pieces.

I didn't realize it at the time, but Signe made coasters that used the colors in her blouse: deep blue and green.

The dark pieces below that appear black are a dark green with a metallic glitter like surface.

This is Lea. She said I could take her picture. Her friend was at the other table.

I like the colors she's using. See the amber family of colors next to her? Those belonged to Molly2. That Molly had to leave early to rescue a stranded teenager. Because we hadn't gotten enough rain in Atlanta, it was really raining hard and her child was stuck somewhere and needed her. She'll be back tomorrow. I like not being the only Molly in the class. Because I usually am. Usually the only Molly period.

On the end is Signe's masseuse. I call her Magic Fingers. She has on gloves because she can't risk her hands being cut because that's how she makes a living. My space is at the end of the table, lower left. I finished a bit sooner than the others because I was, well, more relaxed than the others about my design.

I kind of liked the edges not being perfectly aligned. Once we cut our pieces, we glued them to the clear glass squares. "Dots [of glue] not lots". And before we glued things down, we cleaned our glass - with vinegar, no less. Did you know plain white vinegar will remove Sharpie ink from glass? Believe it.

We left the coasters in the kiln, and will get to see the magic when we go back for part 2 tomorrow. We also made a pendant, which we will fire while we work tomorrow.

Can't wait to see how things turn out!