Beginners Marbles and Paperweights
Class Details:
• Price: $50
• Class Length: 2 hours
• Skill Level: Beginner
• Prerequisites: None
Class Description:
This beginner-level class is the perfect introduction to the timeless forms of marbles and paperweights in glass. Students will first learn to shape a simple, solid paperweight—developing core skills in heat control, gathering, and shaping. Then, you’ll take what you’ve learned and apply it to making a small, hand-formed marble.
The focus is on developing foundational techniques in working with clear and colored glass, with an emphasis on symmetry, smooth shaping, and flame management. Whether you're drawn to functional glass or miniature sculpture, this class offers a strong first step into solid-form glasswork.
What You’ll Learn:
• Gathering and shaping techniques for solid glass forms
• How to control heat and rotation for symmetry and polish
• Basic color application and layering methods
• Differences in approach between paperweights and marbles
Vortex Marbles I
Class Details:
• Price: $75
• Class Length: 3 hours
• Skill Level: Medium to Advanced
• Prerequisites: Prior experience with marble shaping, flame control, and basic encasement techniques recommended
Class Description:
Learn how to create one of the most mesmerizing optical illusions in glass—the vortex marble. In this medium to advanced-level class, students will dive into the layered world of internal design, depth perception, and precise shaping.
You’ll be guided through the step-by-step process of building a spiral pattern that appears to draw the eye inward, creating the effect of a swirling tunnel in suspended motion. Attention will be given to symmetry, backing the vortex with color or sparkle, and achieving a clean lens-like finish for maximum visual impact.
What You’ll Learn:
• Constructing and shaping internal spiral patterns
• Layering techniques for depth and dimensionality
• Heat control and timing for clean vortex formation
• Backing and finishing for clarity, contrast, and polish
Dichroic Marble & Paperweight Class
Class Details:
• Price: $50
• Class Length: 2 hours
• Skill Level: Medium
• Prerequisites: Basic experience with marble shaping and heat control is recommended
Class Description:
This class introduces students to the brilliant, light-catching world of dichroic marbles. Designed for those with a foundational understanding of flame work, this session focuses on how to safely and effectively incorporate dichroic glass into solid marble forms.
You’ll learn techniques for layering and encasing the dichroic to enhance its color-shifting properties, all while maintaining clean shaping and clarity. The goal is to create a luminous, sparkling marble with depth and movement—perfect for display or collection.
What You’ll Learn:
• Safe handling and application of dichroic glass
• Layering and backing for light reflection and depth
• Flame control techniques to preserve shimmer
• Shaping and polishing for a clear, finished surface
Space Paperweights
Class Details:
• Price: $75
• Class Length: 3 hours
• Skill Level: Medium to Advanced
• Prerequisites: Prior experience with solid-form shaping, encasement, and color application is recommended\
Class Description:
Explore the vastness of the cosmos—captured in glass. In Space Paperweights, students will create deep-space-inspired designs using silver and gold fuming, crushed opal, color layering, and optional murrini to craft planetary bodies, starscapes, or nebula-like swirls.
This class focuses on building layered visual depth inside a solid glass form while mastering the technical demands of larger gathers and clean lens finishes. Students will be encouraged to experiment with composition and optical effects to give their paperweights the illusion of infinite space.
What You’ll Learn:
• Techniques for layering color and fume to simulate cosmic depth
• Incorporating crushed opal and murrini into galactic scenes
• Encasing and shaping solid forms with clarity and polish
• Planning and executing multi-layered internal compositions