Getting Ahead: Head of the Glass

FOLKS HAVE been turning glass into art since pharaohs strutted in Egypt. (Tombs stuffed with beads prove it.) Two-day Beginner's Glass Lovers Weekends at the Washington Glass School introduce newbies to the ancient art form, which has been revitalized over the past half-century, thanks to technique and technology innovations. "It's a new medium in some ways. You can do anything and not be derivative," says one of the class' instructors (and school co-founder) Tim Tate. "Try doing that with photography or ceramics. You could be the first person to make a glass giraffe!"

The Basics
Small groups of wannabe Dale Chihulys learn three "warm" glass techniques using kilns in four-hour sessions held on consecutive Saturday and Sunday afternoons. (Warm is actually pretty hot: The piano box-size things operate at between 1,100 and 1,700 degrees Fahrenheit.) Classes are both hands-on and lecture-based, with eight to 10 students gathering around sturdy wooden tables at the industrial-chic (exposed bricks, cement floors) studio in Mount Rainier, Md.

What You'll Learn
Tate and other teachers (many are acclaimed area artists) give the scoop on fusing glass first. They help students cut strips, squares or triangles from Bullseye Glass using cutters and running pliers. These then get gently glued to glass tiles that'll be fired overnight in the kiln. The next day, students get to look at their projects and "figure out what they should've done and appreciate what they did do," says Tate.

Before leaving Saturday, glassmates use clay to sculpt tiny houses. Teaching assistants then help them turn these mini-domicles into molds for cast-glass pieces by submerging the domiciles in wet plaster.

On day two, students return to the studio to find a bunch of colorful tiles that have been baked in the kilns overnight. After a brief art-evaluating session (It all looks good!), it's on to the time-consuming task of digging clay out of the house molds. Using fingers and tools, participants scrupulously clean out molds and then fill them with chunks of clear, amber or turquoise glass. These'll be fired into cast-glass sculptures.

The last lesson of the weekend is 3-D kiln casting, in which one gently presses an object — a shell, a plastic frog — into dry plaster powder in the kiln and then places a glass tile over it. After a firing, the result is a 3-D image. Students must come back a few weeks later to get these creations and their houses, but by then, says Tate, "they've often signed up for another class." The school also offers courses in techniques such as bead crafting, bowl making and recycled glass art.

What's the Deal?
Beginner's Glass Lovers Weekends are scheduled for Aug. 2-3, Sept. 20-21, Oct. 25-26 and Dec. 6-7 from 1-4 p.m. They cost $300 and include supplies.

Photo by Marge Ely/Express