Day 1
To start our week off, we met in the photography room to get some background information on the history and everyday applications of glass. We started off with a few educational videos from Corning Museum of Glass, introducing us to the history and contemporary uses of glass. Then we created our own presentation for which we each explored a different application of glass; for instance, fiber optic cables, packaging, renewable energy, electronics, and medical technology, among others. Then we shifted our focus to learning the fundamentals of cutting glass and explored the basics of grinding. The afternoon brought us to glass artist Shani McLane’s Squam River Studio, where we were blown away as she showed us how she combines her passion of printmaking with her love of glass. She introduced us to a variety of techniques for using glass in fine art. Finally, we headed back to campus to conclude our first day with an episode of the Netflix series “Blown Away.” - Sean '26
Day 2
Today we improved our glass cutting skills as we worked on our glass fusion projects. We all created fun and interesting projects, and we are excited to see how they will turn our after being fired in the kiln! We also talked with Christopher Jeffreys, of Jeffries Glass in Laguna, CA, over Zoom. He is a master glass blower. His work inspired us, and he gave us insight into how glass blowing, and a glass blowing business, works!
Day 3
Today we took a trip to Fiamma Glass in Waltham, MA to learn flamework. It was a great hour and a halff trip with lots of bonding. At Fiamma we were given option of what we would learn to make. The group chose to make a marble and a fish. Before starting, we learned about how to safely handle the materials and tools, and about the properties of borosilicate. For each item we created we first watched a step by step demonstration, then got to work. We started learning basic techniques with the marble, and then moved on to the fish. The glass was amazing to work with and we all had a great time. Looking forward to Thursday and Friday. - Jake '26
Day 4
After great experiences with fused glass and flame work, the Blown Away group was excited to try our hand at the third technique of working with glass: glass blowing. We started the day by traveling to Simon Pierce, a professional glassblowing studio in Windsor, Vt. We were able to view fourteen glassblowers making an assortment of different glass products. This was a great warm-up to the main event of the day. We traveled to the Hot Glass Art Center in Marlborough, NH, and each member of the group was able to make a drinking glass of their own design. We first chose the color of our glass by picking combinations of ground glass called frit. Jordana and Joey, our two instructors, took each of us through the process of blowing glass. Joey gathered the molten glass, which was over 2000 degrees Fahrenheit on the blowpipe, and we learned to shape the glass by rolling it on a table, applying the frit to color the glass, and using steel tweezers and wood paddles to form the glass into the desired shape. The glassware is currently cooling in the annealer, and we can’t wait to see it tomorrow when we return to the hot shop to create a second piece of glass art!
Credits:
Created with an image by Sergej Razvodovskij - "Work of Glass Blower"