Glass Blowing

Click here to sign-up for Glass Blowing Classes Online! 

Hot Glass!!!

Picture
Come to BAGI and experience the excitement of working with 2000 degree hot glass!  BAGI's expert instructors will guide you through the basic procedures surrounding Glassblowing including Safety, working with assistants, blowing cups, vases, etc., and putting you on your way into creating your very own glass treasures!  Click here to sign up for a class or just to check if seats are still available for one or more classes.

Glass Blowing 1A  

This class is designed for people who want to immerse themselves in the magic of glass. Totally hands-on exercises allow you to learn the basics of  traditional free-form glass blowing. We’ll touch on safety in the hot shop, learning which tool does what, a couple of key glassblowing terms and how to work glass into a cool piece of art or something functional... like a cup. You’ll work in teams to assist each other in creating your artwork. The goal for each student is to make perfect bubbles, paperweights, flowers and a drinking cup.

Fee: $550
Pre-requisite: None
Max. # of students: 6
Min. # of students: 2
Click here to sign up!

Date

Feb. 7, 14, 21, 28

Mar. 6, 13, 20, 27

Apr. 3, 10, 17, 24

May 1, 8, 15, 22

June 5, 12, 19, 26

July 3, 10, 17, 24

Aug 7, 14, 21, 28

Time

6pm - 10pm

6pm - 10pm

6pm - 10pm

6pm - 10pm

6pm - 10pm

6pm - 10pm

6pm - 10pm


Instructor

E. Salazar

J. Scally

T. Silkwood

S. Griffiths

E. Salazar

J. Scally

T. Silkwood





Glass Blowing 1B

You want more of that hot, hot, hot glass! Now that you’ve taken the first steps down a glass blower’s path... there’s no looking back. Enroll in the Glassblowing 2 series to hone your skills. You’ll be introduced to embellishment techniques, using color and more!

Fee: $550
Pre-requisite: Glassblowing 1A or equivalent
Max. # of students: 6
Min. # of students: 2
Click here to sign up!

Date

April 28-29 **


**Weekend Workshop

Time

9am - 6pm

Instructor

T. Silkwood



Glass Blowing 2

Take your skills to the next level!  Now that you have a basic foundation in glass blowing, what's next? Glass Blowing 2 will focus on how to create larger, more complex forms and will introduce a variety of decorative techniques. Come with ideas and designs. This class' curriculum will largely be based on techniques students would like to learn.

Fee: $550
Pre-requisite: Glassblowing 1A and 1B or equivalent
Max. # of students: 6
Min. # of students: 2
Click here to sign up!

Date

please send email to karin@bagi.org to place your name on a list of interested students



Time

 

Instructor

T. Silkwood

Glass Blowing Practice Sessions
Please check the schedule for open dates!

Book Online Here!
This is a great way to share the bench with same-level students and build skills! The sessions are typically held weekly.

Fee: $75
Pre-requisite: Students who have completed either Glass Blowing 1A or 1B  are eligible to participate in Hot Shop Practice Sessions within three months of class completion.
Students may take a maximum of three months of practice sessions. After three months you must move to a bench rental or register for another Glassblowing 1A or class. BAGI staff will be happy to help you transistion into bench rental. If you feel that you would still like an experienced monitor present when blowing you can hire one for $80 for a four hour rental. To make arrangements for this, please call the BAGI office.
Min. # of students:  3*
Max. # of students: 4
*session subject to cancellation if there are less then 3 students signed-up per session.

Date

Ongoing

Time

6pm - 10pm

Instructor

R. Rodamer

Australian-Style Roll Up: Blowing Fused Glass

This course will introduce a hot, third dimension to kiln-formed work. The class will work in the “Australian Roll-Up” process -- a technique where a pre-fused glass tile is picked up on a blowpipe, closed into a bubble, and blown and manipulated into a vessel and/or sculptural form. We will design and create two tiles of glass that will then be brought into the hot shop where the students will act as the “designer” and either assist the instructor in blowing their piece, or if the student is a glassblower, blow their own piece. The first day of class will be spent creating the kiln worked tiles that will be fused and ready to be blown in the hot shop on days 2 & 3 of the class. With the hot-shop skills learned, kiln working students will have the knowledge and experience to continue to work with a gaffer (glassblower) to have their designs created in a hot shop. Students who already blow glass will learn a remarkable new technique that they can utilize in the hot shop without the need for a glass furnace.

Date

Mar 18 & 24-25

Time

9am - 5pm

Instructor

J. Schmuck

Fee: $375
Pre-requisite: Fusing 1A, Glassblowing 1A or equivalent
Max. # of Students: 6
Min. # of students: 3
Click here to sign up

Glory Hole and Kiln Forming

We will use hot working techniques with the fusible sheet glass to produce some unique patterns and designs in our glass. Glass bundles and tiles will be manipulated in the glory hole to form color twists, overlays, fold overs, and murrinis. We will then take the hot-manipulated parts to the kiln where they will become the starting point for making larger fused pieces. This process is a way to make some very interesting and unique kiln formed glass.

Fee: $375
Pre-requisite: Fusing 1A, Glassblowing 1A or equivalent
Max. # of students: 6
Min. # of students: 3
Click here to sign up

Date

Mar 10-11

Time

9am - 5pm

Instructor

J. Schmuck


Murrini Weekend

We  will have two days of working in the studio, beginning with making bundled  murrinis in the glory hole while kilnforming more complex murrini designs which will be pulled the second day.  We will cut up the pulls from our first day  and arrange them in the kiln for further firing. This class will demonstrate how  to make these hot-worked and kilnformed elements and how to use them in a  secondary firing with all the attendant coldworking. We will also examine the characteristics of working in the glory hole and the kiln to form these different decorative parts and how to easily utilize these processes in your work.

Fee: $375
Pre-requisite: Fusing 1A, Glassblowing 1A or equivalent
Max. # of students: 6
Min. # of students: 3
Click here to sign up

Date

Feb 25-26
Apr 14-15

Time

9am - 5pm
9am - 5pm

Instructor

J. Schmuck
J. Schmuck

 Rock Science 101

The natural world is and endless source of study and reflection for art.  The desire to suss out the essence of natural items by making them in glass has a long historical tradition.  With the advent of fusing-compatible glass, the emulation of the complex world of stones, rocks, and gems, is achievable by patterning combinations of opaque and transparent glass.

Our class will be about exploring that world -- we’ll work directly in the kiln, the glory hole, and the coldshop to develop your ideas and aesthetics. We’ll be using sheet glass and fragments to build up and fire all sorts of interesting fused things and some hot worked bundles of sheet glass to make twisted manipulations and murrinis in the glory hole.  Two kiln firings will enhance and juxtapose elements within our designs and cold working will give us the textures and smooth finish that will complete our work. Our goal will be to make a set of glass stones that embody the the soul of our favorite rocks while giving us ample time to fully understand the lessons and terranes of our exploration.

Fee: $350
Pre-requisite: Fusing 1A or equivalent
Max # of students: 6
Click here to sign  up

Date

Mar 3-4

Time

9am - 5pm

Instructor

J. Schmuck
To Register: Either register online, call 408-993-2244 or send an e-mail to studio@bagi.org. Payment is required upon registration. We accept Visa, MasterCard & personal checks if received 2 weeks prior to the scheduled class.
Cancellation Policy: Cancellations made at 7 days prior to the first day of a class will receive a 100% refund. Cancellations made 3 days prior to the first day of class will be issued a 50% refund. In the event that BAGI were to cancel a class(es) a full refund, for the class(es) will be issued.
Liability: Students must be 9+ years of age for glassblowing related classes. Students must be 12+ years of age for flameworking & kilnworking related classes. Students under the age of 18 must have a parent or legal guardian sign a BAGI issued liability release form. Students must inform BAGI, at the time of registration, if they have special requirements due to health related conditions.