Since its inception in 1977, UrbanGlass has become an award-winning performance space and has helped launch the careers of incredible artists like Robert Rauschenberg and Mathew Barney. Today, UrbanGlass is proud to educate over 1,000 students, many of whom have been able to take advantage of the school’s robust scholarship program. It is a state-of-the-art facility where nearly 400 professional artists come to create their pieces. The workshop is 17,000 square feet and contains a full-sized glass-blowing hot shop, complete with multiple annealers, six glory holes, two furnaces, and 14 kilns.
UrbanGlass offers a wide range of glass-blowing and other artistic courses for beginners and more advanced artists. Beginners may enjoy a shorter class, like the Paperweight Party workshop. In this three-hour program, students will learn to add color to molten glass as they shape it into a simple yet colorful paperweight. They will also learn to use many basic glassblowing tools. There is also a weekend-long Glassblowing 101 class which includes the solid paperweight curriculum as well as instruction on how to make your very first blown glass cup.
More experienced glassblowers can participate in one of UrbanGlass’ intensive programs to learn a new technique or further refine their existing skills. For example, there is a Glass Dimensional Construction workshop that covers how to connect smaller rods of glass into two-and three-dimensional shapes. Because glass and ceramics require a lot of time to cool before they can be safely handled, many of these workshops take place over the course of multiple days. However, there are plenty of single-day workshops for students who want to dip their toes in the world of glass blowing rather than diving straight into the deep end.
Students who have attended classes at UrbanGlass have largely positive things to say about their experience. Many participants report feeling that the class was able to help them overcome their fears and demystify the process of working with glass and ceramics as an artistic medium. The instructors are often described as being patient and knowledgeable, able to meet the needs of students of all skill levels. Many students also appreciated having access to such a first-class facility with quality tools and materials.
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