Courses

From years of developing my own practice, and working on my own day by day in the studio, I appreciate how valuable interaction and information sharing is with other glass Artists. So I offer monthly 'Wellmaking' sessions in my studio, we can get fired up about what we're working on! Bring your latest glass project and swap ideas / techniques over tea and cake. I will announce the summer schedule soon in Facebook.

I also offer Residential Courses for Artists in my Studio and Dedicated Course Space in Scotland, with interest from international students as far away as Namibia and Costa Rica. Residencies operate from a very comfortable base in a characteristic Whisky Distillery where I work. The setting is tranquil with a shared courtyard outside and rolling hills beyond. 

All of the courses run from 11 - 5, over 1 to 3 days, which in glass terms, is a blink of a eye! With this in mind, we will not embark on anything too ambitious, however I will offer up some thoughts on the kinds of designs you may wish to make.

The 1 day Introductory Course in Open Glass Casting ‘For the Love of Glass’, takes us on a journey from working with clay to producing a glass sculpture. We cover model making, refractory mold making, firing schedules, measuring glass and colour flow. We’ll also review how to evaluate firing schedules to achieve the effects you want and how subtle changes in ramp rates or soak times can produce different results.

The 1 day Intermediate Course in Open Glass Casting 'Sculpting with Colour and Light' we will model glass sculptures in clay, specifically looking at how to create tapering forms to produce different depths of colour in glass. You can also explore texture and ways of building up and carving relief in clay to create captivating effects inside glass. In the second half of the course we will hand craft a refractory mold then consider how to stack colour(s) in your mold to orchestrate for colours to ebb and flow around the form when glass is molten.

The 3 day Course 'Exploring the Nature of Form' is to combine lost wax casting with sculpting. We will cover how to make a silicone mold of found textures in the natural landscape, then how to incorporate wax impressions from the landscape into your sculpted form. In the second half of the course we will hand craft a refractory mold, explore the lost wax technique, then consider how to stack colour(s) in your mold to ebb and flow around the relief when glass is molten.

Places are limited to 4 students per course, so that everyone will enjoy some individual tuition and are encouraged to come with ideas for us to explore together.

Enjoy scrumptious homemade soup and bread each day, catered by Rae Jackman, who specialises in vegan recipes using fresh, local ingredients. We typically take a leisurely lunch together followed by cafetière of coffee and chocolate / biscuits. 

Courses are advertised on Facebook and through my mailing list, so please be sure to sign up to my mailing list, if you don't want to miss out.