Classes

An excellent way to get started in this great art form!  In this Beginner Fusing Class, we cover all the basics like cutting, melting and bending art glass to get you going.  We’ll cover all the important safety factors, then go right into making samples with a variety of inclusions such as copper as well as methods to create textures on glass.  You will learn how to cut glass as well as a variety of ways to create imagery.  We’ll discuss firing schedules as well as all the possibilities of glass to use in a kiln.  We’ll even show you plenty of project ideas as you move forward.  Students will make a number of glass samples as well as a final project incorporating the learned techniques!

Instructor Bio

Tony Glander, owner of Fitzpatrick Glass Studios, is a local glass artist celebrating 31 years in glass.  He's worked at Glass Fantasies in Olde Towne Gaithersburg, MD for 3 years prior to becoming owner in 1990. Glass Fantasies taught classes, sold supplies and did custom stained glass work.  In 2002 he began to focus on custom work and classes.  Recently he taught at the Glass/Bead Expo in Las Vegas!  Tony enjoys the medium of glass and all of its possibilities!

Slide presentations, demonstrations, and combined individual and group projects guarantee that this workshop will be informative, educational, and FUN. Students will leave the workshop with a high level of enthusiasm as well as some great masterpieces they’ve made.
 

Peter McGrain is an internationally acclaimed artist and educator who has been working with glass for 35 years. As a popular workshop leader he has generously shared his knowledge of glassworking and design techniques with countless students. His award winning work, which ranges in scale from massive architectural installations to intimate art pieces, can be found in public spaces, private collections, and art galleries the world over. He currently resides in Southwest Florida where he operates his own private studio.

Barbara Cashman - Barbara J Cashman has been a glass fuser since 1979 and was an early pioneer in commercial fused glass tile, opening GlasTile Inc in 1990, which produced quality handmade production and custom glass tile. A creative problem-solver, Barbara was encouraged to find a safe, non-carcinogenic refractory product that the hobbyist and professional alike would be comfortable to use in their glass art processes. A special rigidizer for the refractory blanket was added and SilkeMat was born!

Mark Hufford is an Artist, Instructor and Graphic Designer whose passion for the arts began at the age of four when he first put pencil to paper. While Mark is an accomplished Artist in many mediums, his early love of graphite not only endured, but grew. After years of limitless exploration into the layered subtleties of graphite drawing, along with his experimentation and development of various techniques, he yearned to share what he had mastered with others. 

His unique method of teaching is not to simply arm students with technical skills, but to guide his students to see the world through brand new eyes as they awaken to the nuances that surround them in the simplicity of everyday life.

Mark obtained his Degree in Graphic Arts from the Art Institute in 2012 and has published the book The Art of Fused Glass Enamel Painting – a guide of applications for all skill levels.

 

Mark Hufford is an Artist, Instructor and Graphic Designer whose passion for the arts began at the age of four when he first put pencil to paper. While Mark is an accomplished Artist in many mediums, his early love of graphite not only endured, but grew. After years of limitless exploration into the layered subtleties of graphite drawing, along with his experimentation and development of various techniques, he yearned to share what he had mastered with others. 

His unique method of teaching is not to simply arm students with technical skills, but to guide his students to see the world through brand new eyes as they awaken to the nuances that surround them in the simplicity of everyday life.

Mark obtained his Degree in Graphic Arts from the Art Institute in 2012 and has published the book The Art of Fused Glass Enamel Painting – a guide of applications for all skill levels.

 

Lois Manno - founder of Glass Bird Studios, has been a professional artist and author for the last 30 years. During her college years in Texas, she studied Drawing & Painting, and has illustrated books for numerous publishers.  After decades of working in two-dimensional, conventional media like acrylic paint and pastel, Lois began working in kiln-formed glass.  She has developed several techniques unique to her own interest: creating three-dimensional sculptural glass objects without the need for molds. Using glass powder, she creates art inspired by what she loves—feathers, the sky, birds, and other forms from nature.  See more of her work at www.glassbirdstudios.com.