.

 The surface is the entry to a work of art, the part you want to touch. It can stop you in your tracks or draw you into the layers below. In this class, you will learn strategies to enable rich textural surfaces and depth for fused glass, including unusual applications of Bullseye sheet glass, powder, stringer and frit, in conjunction with multiple firings.

Gritty, slick, or robust relief, kilnforming materials and processes afford us exceptional textural and tactile qualities. Utilizing wet and dry powder processes, and combinations of glasses,  you will create a variety of surface textures. Through the careful order of firings and observation of the effects of heat work, you will attain and maintain a diversity of desired textures on panel surfaces. Detailed firing schedules and layering strategies will be explored. Colour, composition, opacity and transparency will be considered. This highly creative and hands on course is of interest to kiln glass workers as well as artists working in other media.

In this workshop, students will extensively explore texture on fused glass pieces. Texture can occur literally on the top surface of the glass or be implied in layers within. We will be concerned mostly with texture that is achieved using glass materials and temperature rather than machines (cold working). Time permitting , we may also use cold working processes for finishing work.

Kiln firing is a creative process in itself. With careful attention to time, temperature and mass, and multiple firings, we will attain a variety of textures on the same surface. Both sides of the glass will be considered. Using a variety of glass products in conjunction with wet and dry processes, students will create texture from silky surfaces to high relief.

Kari Minnick holds a degree in studio art from the University of California and has been an exhibiting artist and educator for over twenty five years. Collected internationally, Kari’s works are in private, corporate and embassy collections.