Words & Photos from Namrata B. and Alex C.
We started off the rainy morning by finishing off our stained glass pieces from our last Clay and Glass Fusion Cohort day. To put together our stained glass pieces we first had to learn how to drill together wooden boards and pieces to create a ninety degree corner where we could use metal and lead to create a border and section off the different glasses. A lot of us didn't know how to use a drill or were afraid of drilling, so the first step that we had to get down was, drilling. It was easier than I had expected it to be, you just had to hold onto what you were drilling and keep the drill straight up and down. Not long after getting down how to drill and putting together our wooden boards we started putting the together our stained glass. To get the different sections of the glasses to stick we had to use lead in between the pieces and then use a really hot metal tool to melt other types of metals that helped the lead stick to each other and the borders.
While some of us worked on putting together the stained glasses, the rest of us worked on drawing designs to carve into a really unique types of glass. To carve into the glass stone we had to use various types of ball point tools that span really fast so that it took away the top layer of the glass and left a black carving of what you drew onto the stone. After carving into the glass we left the glass in a solution to clean off the dust and make the designs pop out more. Before everyone could finish with their stained glass pieces, it was lunch time.
Once finishing lunch and heading back to derby, we began to finish up our stained glass pieces by adding a chain to the top and polishing up the whole piece. We began a new project with felt so that we can melt glass on top of the felt and the design we built, by stacking felt, will be left behind. Everyone made very unique designs and after gluing together our felt and finishing up our stained glasses, and our glass carvings, our cohort was over and we had to head back to the school. Everyone learned so many skills and had so much fun that the day went by really fast. I look forward to a new experiential day and learning and creating something new and unique.