Make the most of the winter months by learning Glass Casting

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Make the most of the winter months by learning Glass Casting

Amy Whittingham • February 6, 2023

Spring is in the air which is a good time to revisit those winter resolutions. Whether that means you are having a clear out or want to learn a new skill, it's the time of year to get your creative juices flowing.

Learn a new skill
Join a small group of like minded individuals for this fun and informative Glass casting for beginners workshop that runs weekly over four Mondays in March 2023.

Material knowledge
Amy is an expert mould maker for glass casting and an experienced glass technician. Amy will walk you step by step through the glass casting process at an easy to follow pace. We will have fun following the Glass Casting Book, finding inspiration and creating forms.

Mindful Making

You time will be spent getting hands on in the studio, we will work with positive and negative spaces and you will learn each step of how to cast glass using the open casting method. You will be guided through mindful model making and the mould making process.

Positive Progression
Amy is an experienced cast glass artist and author of Glass Casting, the book that we will be referring to whilst working through processes together. As you progress weekly, you will pick up tips on how to set up a studio at home and start to demystify what is happening in the kiln with firing schedules for you to take away. At the end of the workshop you will have created a beautiful clear glass form for your home.

Secure your Workshop

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Four Helpful Tips for How to Cast Glass

By Amy Whittingham • February 6, 2023

Make sure its level When making a mould for glass casting your mould needs to be poured onto a level surface. When heated up in a kiln glass will naturally fill the space it is in and form a flat level surface when cast, if the mould is not level then the glass won't be either. This is especially important when making flat relief open casts. Make your model taller As you are going to put cold chunks of glass or glass frit into the mould you make, the space that you allow for the glass to go in needs to have more depth than you intend the final glass piece to be. Glass Chunks and frit have lots of air gaps between them, when the glass melts and becomes liquid these gaps will disperse through the material. Learn to love the bubbles The space between the glass chunks, frit or panes will become bubbles, as the glass is liquid it is very thick similar to treacle so the bubbles take a while to rise to the top surface and pop. Some bubbles will stay trapped in the glass when it cools and turns solid. Some bubbles may pop on the surface at the end of the firing cycle, If you don't love this, it may be easier to re-fire the cast than to grind back the surface to a flat. Larger glass pieces = better clarity When filling the moulds, the bigger pieces of glass you use the less bubbles will be trapped between them. If you decide to use fine frit for example this will trap lots of little bubbles in the glass and will make the glass less transparent. The bubbles interrupt and distort the light that is able to travel through the glass, hindering the view through. If you love these tips share For more hints and tips Amy Whittingham has written a book called Glass Casting which is available via her shop. Amy also teaches in person glass casting courses from her studio click below to sign up.