2027: 03/18-03/21 Fused Glass Foundations: Working With Strips

March 18-21, 2027 | 10am-5pm each day
Skill Level: Some fused glass experience recommended | Ages 16+

What happens when you take a simple strip of glass and start thinking beyond straight lines? As it turns out, quite a lot!

In this four-day workshop, we'll explore the surprisingly versatile world of glass strips, transforming narrow pieces of sheet glass into colorful patterns, intricate designs, and sculptural forms. You'll discover how cutting, arranging, stacking, and firing strips in different ways can produce results that look anything but simple.

This workshop is part of our Fused Glass Foundations series and builds on the basic glass cutting and construction skills you've already learned. We'll introduce new techniques that challenge you to think about glass in different ways, from carefully planned geometric patterns to organic shapes that seem to defy gravity.

You'll learn about:

• Strip Construction
• Pattern Bars
• Coral Bowls

• Drip Bowls

We'll begin by exploring strip construction, learning how to arrange glass on edge to create designs filled with color, movement, and depth. From there, we'll take things a step further with pattern bars, stacking and combining strips of glass to create intricate patterns that are revealed when the bars are cut into slices.

Then it's time to loosen things up a little! You'll create a delicate, openwork coral bowl using strips arranged into an airy, interconnected design. Finally, we'll explore the dramatic possibilities of heat and gravity as we create a drip bowl, allowing glass to soften, bend, and flow into an entirely new form.

Along the way, you'll learn how strip width, color placement, construction methods, firing schedules, and gravity influence the finished piece. Some projects will reward careful planning and precision, while others will invite you to experiment and let the kiln have a little say in the outcome.

As with all our Foundations workshops, we'll provide examples, demonstrations, and plenty of guidance, but the creative decisions are yours. Choose your own colors, explore different arrangements, and discover how even the simplest pieces of glass can become something extraordinary.

By the end of our four days together, you'll have four new projects, a better understanding of how glass behaves when constructed and fired in different ways, and a whole new collection of techniques to bring into your own work.

Think in strips. Create without limits.

Materials are not included in the workshop fee. Material costs will vary depending on your individual design and glass choices.