2027: 05/23-05/29 Pate de Verre: Form and Color in Glass Paste, with Sayaka Suzuki

2027: May 23-29, 2027, 10am-5pm daily.

Skill Level: Open to All Levels

During the 7 day workshop, discover the beauty and versatility of pâte de verre, a traditional glass casting technique that uses glass powders and frit to create richly detailed forms with remarkable depth and color. In this workshop, students will explore two distinct approaches to pâte de verre: the classic Art Nouveau style of solid casting and a smaller vessel form. Both projects incorporate mold-making and casting techniques while demonstrating the unique visual possibilities of working with glass powders.

One of the most fascinating aspects of pâte de verre is its ability to produce a wide range of effects, from marble-like opacity to soft translucency and transparent forms accented with opaque details. Students will learn how the particle size of the glass influences the final appearance of a casting and how thoughtful color application can dramatically affect the finished work.

The workshop begins with the creation of color samples, mixing glass powders to develop a range of custom shades and tones. Through guided exercises, students will explore opacity, transparency, and methods for achieving subtle transitions and variations in color.

Working with clay, students will create relief designs that demonstrate the movement of glass within a mold and provide insight into effective color placement. As the workshop progresses, participants will learn to mix, paint, and create gradients with powdered glass, developing a personal approach to color and imagery. In many ways, this process allows artists to work like painters, using glass powders as their medium.

Topics covered include:

• Traditional pâte de verre mold-making techniques
• Casting both solid forms and vessel forms
• Glass powder and frit selection
• Color mixing and custom color development
• Opacity, translucency, and transparency in pâte de verre
• Relief design and understanding glass movement in molds
• Painting and creating gradients with glass powders
• Techniques for developing layered and expressive color effects

Suitable for beginners and experienced glass artists alike, this workshop provides a strong technical foundation while encouraging creative exploration. Students will leave with completed pâte de verre castings, a collection of color samples, and a deeper understanding of how to use glass powders to create richly colored and highly personal works of art.

All Levels Welcome:

Join us for a journey into the world of Pâte de Verre, where you'll combine the precision of traditional mold making with the creativity of painting, resulting in one-of-a-kind glass art pieces.

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Originally from Yokohama, Japan, Sayaka Suzuki received her BFA from Tulane University in New Orleans and her MFA from Virginia Commonwealth University. Suzuki creates works that explore her deep roots in Japanese culture in conjunction to her new adopted identity as an American immigrant. Exploring colors, designs and traditions of Japanese textiles, she explores this dual identity in forms of drawings, sculptures and installations.

She resides in Richmond, VA and has taught extensively in universities and workshops around the country including Corning Museum of Glass, Pilchuck Glass School, Penland School of Crafts, and Haystack Mountain School of Crafts. Suzuki’s works have been exhibited nationally and internationally including solo exhibitions at the Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art and Pensacola Museum of Art (FL) and has exhibited at the New Mexico Museum of Art, Czong Institute for Contemporary Art (Korea), Museo Crocetti (Italy) and most recently Hsinchu City Glass Craft Museum (Taiwan). 

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