And our Star Glass Bakers are...
You now know who won the "Great British Bake-off", but we've been running our own competition at The Jewellery Boat with our "baked" Fused Glass Christmas Decorations day course this year.
Designed with the festive season in mind and as a solution to the age-old quest for a present for the person who has everything, the answer is "bake them something in glass!" It's healthy, non-fattening, low calorie, creative, and completely one of a kind! Making your own DIY Fused Glass Christmas Decorations is a fun way to create gifts that keep giving and become part of the annual festive decking of the halls!
Our first course was held on Sunday 5th November 2017 at Rainbow Glass Studios, with Helen, Joanne, Caroline and Lesley taking on roles as keen and industrious Christmas Elves. We learn to cut glass safely, the principles of layering and fusing glass, and not forgetting to think about the "how I am going to hang it up when it is "cooked"scenario". A multitude of decorative techniques later, we have several kiln shelves of carefully constructed piles of brightly coloured glass, laid out like biscuits, glued and ready for firing. Depending on the required end result, some pieces will be "full fused" (for a more melted, glassy, jellied finish) and others will be "tack fused" (to keep more of the contours in the layered glass.) Both equally lovely! What did we make? Well here are just a few examples....the sky is the limit in terms of creativity, and I love seeing the new ideas my "elves" come up with once they have mastered the basics of fusing.
Fused glass stockings, trees, Santa hats, penguins, stars, holly wreaths, snowmen, mistletoe, angels, snowflakes, reindeer, candy canes, robins .....last year I even made a highland terrier for some friends (just like their "Maggie-dog")
Why not make your own design personal, amusing, something that has a comic character or that represents a fond memory or a family joke, it's all possible, with a little bit of imagination, some scraps of compatible glass, and a willingness to experiment and be surprised at the results!
I'm opening the fusing kiln on the students' creations tomorrow, so more pictures will follow soon!
As well as making decorations on these courses, I also sell them at local fairs and in my Glass and Porcelain Shop on The Jewellery Boat website.
Let me know your ideas in the comments below for new shapes and characters you'd like to see us make at the next Fused Glass Decorations Course. Or commission me to make one specially for you. I do like a challenge!
At Rainbow Glass Studios we run day and weekend courses all year round in fused glass, stained glass, traditional painting on glass, enamelling on copper or silver and fused glass jewellery.
Now there's another gift idea for the person who has everything - a voucher for a 2018 course! Click here for more details:
