Glass Craft | Hot Glass Instruction

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Hot Glass Instruction

The allure of glass only grows when you see a glassblower
in action: the fires burning hot, the glass molten and moving. As exotic and adventurous as glass blowing might seem, workshops and private lessons are available. Try it for fun, or find out if it's something you'd like to do seriously. Young people and adults from many different backgrounds have given it a try, and have
all found the experience enriching.

• Instruction usually begins with a one day workshop focusing on studio glassblowing technique. It begins with a solid
paperweight design, demonstrated to the student and then made by him or her. You will then move on to a simple blown form.
In one intense but fun session, you will have the chance to practise basic techniques of handblown glass together with the
use of color, annealing of the glass, etc. Emphasis is on practising basic skills rather than the finished product,
but you should be able to pull off that priceless "first piece"!

• Malcolm Macfadyen has been glassblowing for fifteen years and teaching workshops for six.
Over 400 students have taken at least the one-day workshop, some returning again and again. Ages range from
eight to eighty, with nationalities from across the globe. Malcolm's studio, located on the west side of Vancouver (Dunbar area),
has various features that make it an excellent venue for instruction. The space is private, the furnace is user-friendly
and there's a variety of special equipment for making one's first glass experience a positive and memorable one.

For more about workshops and lessons, read on...