Floral Mosaic Serving Tray

Napa Glass Therapy is hosting me for
this Father's Day 2015 weekend workshop.

I am so excited to be "coming home" to Napa for a Father's Day weekend workshop in mosaic making!  This is going to be a very fun class where we'll complete a luscious wooden serving tray mosaic at a relaxed pace over the course of the weekend. 

A commissioned mosaic tray made with my signature lotus mandala pattern.

Napa Glass Therapy is excited to host International Glass Artist and instructor Carrie Strope Sohayda for a 2 day luxurious workshop in Napa, California on June 20th and 21st. Experience the therapeutic qualities of glass as you create your own keepsake mosaic tray.

My example for the class is very eye-popping! (I love bright colors.)

During this 2 day workshop, Carrie will teach the tricks and skills she has learned and perfected over her years as a glass artist. earn how easy it is to use No Days Groutless Mosaic Adhesive on wedi board in creating a sturdy wooden serving tray mosaic at a relaxed pace over the course of the weekend.  We will discuss basic color theory to help you choose your glass, talk about pattern variations and the best way to approach cutting a pattern out of a sheet of glass, learn tricks for cutting circles and finish with grouting pointers as we complete a mosaic in a weekend.

  AND, since it's wine country, we'll be going out each night for dinner and drinks, with a little wine sipping, too! Anyone coming from out of town is more than welcome to join us, if you don't already have plans :)

Student projects from a previous class taught in Southern California.

Learn how to cut glass so that it breaks where you want it to every time, join in the fun and at the end of the second day, leave with your own gorgeous mosaic keepsake tray measuring 13.5" x 19" serving tray that can double as a small mosaic table top. No previous glass experience necessary!

$200 includes all materials, tools, supplies, as well as lunch for both days, delicious homemade snacks and sweets, and specialty, organic, fairtrade roasted coffee to keep you focused!

Contact Carrie Strope Sohayda at 707.225.1361 for more information and to save your spot!

I hope you'll join us for this great weekend.
We always have a blast in my classes!

Carrie has been working in glass since 2005 and is enthusiastic about sharing her knowledge with participants. If you've got questions about fused glass or stained glass, she can answer those (or point you in the right direction), as well as all of your mosaic questions. Carrie has experience working with preK-12 students in the classroom with glass and has lots of project ideas that can be adjusted to the capabilities of your students.


This is a great class for refining your glass cutting skills. You'll learn how to cut glass so that it breaks where you want it to every time, join in the fun and create a beautiful keepsake 13.5" x 19" serving tray that can double as a mosaic table top. Carrie has several resources for teaching artists and teachers in finding tools and materials for the classroom, as well.

Studying Chuck Close Portraits - CLASS co-op art class, Session 1

For the first project of our spring semester in art class, we're working on self portraits in the style of Chuck Close. Chuck Close is a portrait painter whose style has changed over the course of his career.

Vocabulary for this week:

• portrait
• value
• tint
• shade
• tone
• hue

In order to start talking about color, we need to speak the same language. This week's vocabulary terms are related to color. This website is a great primer for getting to know the vocabulary: http://www.color-wheel-artist.com/hue.html. There are also printable color wheels, if you'd like to practice mixing colors at home. If you've got some paints at home, then this practice will help you in getting to know your paints!

I'd like it if you could read the first two pages of Painting Color Class: Tones or Values = What is Tone and Why is it Important to Painting, Perhaps Even More than Color? AND Practice Tone by Painting a Gray Scale or Value Scale. You will recognize this exercise from this week and perhaps start to understand why we are creating our value maps.

Here's a short video that gives an overview of Chuck Close's life and his painting technique:


In the first session of class for this project, we started to create value maps by mixing white with black, and then with blue.

The tonal value maps that we made in the first session of our Unit on Chuck Close.

 In our next session, we will continue to work on our value maps by mixing white with yellow and with red.

After we've created our value maps, we'll begin to work on our self-portraits. The value maps will help us in choosing the right values and colors that we want to fill our portraits with. Next week's homework will be editing a photograph of yourself to use as a guide in creating your portrait. We will be creating a grid on the photo and our canvases.

In this video from the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, Chuck Close explains why he follows a grid when creating his portraits.


After watching these videos, go to Google and perform an image search for Chuck Close. If you need help on how to do this, email me or leave a comment in the blog post.

While looking at the images, take note of the things that the portraits have in common. Look at the subject matter, the styles, and the backgrounds.  Begin thinking about how you want your portrait to look. Next week, your homework will include taking a "selfie" to transform into a greyscale value map image.

Fused Glass Weekend Intensive ~ Architectural Glassarts, Lincoln, NE

Valentine's Day Weekend, 2014

Architectural Glassarts

Lincoln, Nebraska

Woven glass preparation - slumping the strips for our "Warp" pieces

I was very excited to see interest for this kind of a class in Lincoln! Yea! Fused glass is coming! I can schedule more intermediate glass classes as long as there's interest, so let me know if you want more!

The first day was a very busy day! We had a lot on our schedule in order to get the kilns loaded and fully fired before coming back on Sunday to do more work. So, after cutting all the strips for our woven glass and talking about how to form them in different ways and design considerations...

Picking through scrap glass for our screen melts

We pulled out the scrap glass and chose our color combinations for the screen melts. We had a couple of different set-ups in the kiln. The one on the right is a screen melt system from Master Artisan and the other is a homemade screen that my uncle helped me put together. Basically, we found the stainless steel mesh and cut it to fit the length of my kiln dams, folding the sides together so they lock. NOTE:  It's very important to make sure you have plenty of kiln wash on your shelves and furniture, so the glass won't stick.

Screen melts - before firing

I thought initially that it may have been stress due to an annealing problem or incompatibility issues that made the screen melt on the left side of the kiln crack up...but after examining the shelves later, I found some pits where I think glass has eaten through and attached itself to the shelf on a previous firing. So, not enough kiln wash on the shelf, and I think I won't be using that shelf for more high temp work like this.

Screen melts - after firing, with loads of kiln wash on the back

After firing glass to such a high temperature, (screen melts go to 1600ºF and higher) the kiln wash gets embedded in the backside of the melt. So, thanks to Matt for coming in on Sunday and waking up the sandblaster in the basement for some sandblasting of our backsides :)

Matt took care of the kiln wash with the sandblaster

After lunch on day two,  the students gathered 'round the light table and puzzled together the mesh melt pieces, admiring the patterns created by the molten glass.

Gathered around the light table looking at our screen melts

After loading up the screens on day one, we started our frit painting party! We had lots of frit to choose from...Carolina Frit from Slumpy's and Uroboros System 96. At the end of day one, we hadn't quite finished our plates, so we started up early on Sunday.

Frit painting paradise

After finishing the frit plates, we moved on to strip cutting the "weft" pieces of glass for our glass weavings.

Cutting strips of glass for our "weft" pieces - glass weaving

We also pulled some stringers on the torches to add a bit of flair to our woven glass...

Pulling stringers to add to our woven glass

We finished up the day by working with powder wafers, creating them in a brand new way! I've been working with Streuter Technologies (the No Days guys) for the last couple of years to come up with the best powder wafer material for glass fusing. It's finally ready! My class got a sneak peek at it and came up with some great designs, too!

It's little Cyndi Lou Who playing with powders!

Mmm-kay...nuff talk. The pictures tell the rest of the story :)

Chris's powder wafer watermelon

Frit painted pieces are fired. The back side of the pieces
on top, front sides on bottom.

Woven glass and powder wafers going into the kiln.

Drat! I thought I took a picture of the after in the kiln, but the camera went blank, so I'll have to get more pictures tomorrow.

Fused Glass Fun with Girl Scouts

The girls creations at the end of our 2 hour session.

As a Girl Scout Community Collaborator, I work with Girl Scout troops to create glass art. Sometimes we meet for mosaics, but this post is all about glass fusing! Earlier this year, I worked with a Girl Scout troop from Council Bluffs, Iowa. There were 6 girls able to attend the meeting. We talked about how glass is made, how to "play" with glass safely, and how to create art with glass.

A kiln full of glass before firing.

I give each girl two sheets of clear glass; one for a plate and one for a sun catcher. After digging through my scraps and piecing together their larger pieces, they can make pendants (or magnets) for the rest of the session. Generally, each girl will finish all three projects. Some may end up with more pendants, and some spend a lot of time piecing together the perfect plate (and need help from mom or friends to finish other projects).

Same kiln - after firing.

After our session, the girls go home and I get to work! After cleaning up the work area and letting the glue dry (so the pieces don't shift on the way to the kiln), I prep the kiln for firing. I need to coat the kiln shelves with kiln wash to prevent the glass from sticking to the shelf permanently. Then, I need to let the kiln wash dry or else the glass pieces end up with kiln wash stuck to them! I generally speed this part up by running the kiln up to 500ºF for 30 minutes and then letting it cool back down to room temperature.

Close up of plates pre-fire

Now that the kiln is prepped, I can load all the pieces in it. If I'm lucky, I can fit everything in the kiln at once. However, since I seldom give strict rules when the girls are constructing, I'll sometimes have one piece that needs to go in the kiln at a different temperature. This is a decision I make based on my years of experience firing glass taking into consideration how much glass has been used, whether or not it's even across the entire sheet of glass and how I know the glass will act in the kiln.

Detail shot after firing.

The glass comes out of the kiln in one piece, but it's all flat. For the plates, I need to put the glass back in the kiln in molds to shape them and make them three dimensional. This is done in a separate firing because the temperature doesn't need to get as hot as it did for fusing the glass together. (By the way, glass fusing temperatures are around 1480ºF, whereas slumping temperatures are only around 1250ºF.)

Fused glass sun catchers after firing.

When all of the glass is finished firing, I clean up the edges. Sometimes little bits of glass will end up grabbing the kiln shelf and creating needles. I grind those off so that the glass art doesn't bite! Then, I wrap it up so it won't break and label it with each girls name, and they're ready to be picked up! Generally the whole process takes 5-7 days. If this is something you'd like to do with your Girl Scout troop, please contact me for a list of available dates. Current pricing is $25 a girl, which is a steal!

Each girl made one plate, one sun catcher, and as many pendants as she wanted in a 2 hour session.

Mosaic Stepping Stones with Girl Scouts

As a Girl Scout Community Collaborator, I work with Girl Scout troops to create glass art. Sometimes we meet for glass fusing, but this post is about mosaic stepping stones...

I prep the paver stones, so we're ready to get started when you get here.

There are a few different approaches to making mosaic stepping stones and as an introduction to the process I choose the easiest and most accessible way! Instead of having to build upside down, pouring cement and having to wait to get your stepping stone back, we use paver stones from the hardware store. I gather all the materials and get them prepped before you show up. I choose the 6" x 8" paver stones, because that guarantees that we finish close to the 3 hour mark. After I clean the stones, I prep them with the adhesive. (It's a heat set adhesive that cures quickly to allow us to finish the class by grouting, instead of waiting for glue to dry.)

Piecing the glass together on the paver stones

Then, when you show up, we talk about how to safely "play" with glass, how to cut it with nippers and rules for arranging a mosaic and using the groutlines for design. If the weather permits, we work outside the whole time. Otherwise, we'll work in my studio. (For large groups, we meet at Architectural Glassarts.) I encourage everyone to come to class with an idea of what they might like to make: flowers, cars, animals, sun, moon, ocean, mountains, pineapple, etc. It doesn't mean you won't get inspired by the glass to make something else, but it helps get past the "creative block."

Grouting the stepping stones

After covering the paver stone with glass, it's time to pop them in the oven to cure. Then, we take a studio tour, and I talk more about glass and different things you can do with it. If you'd prefer to make this snack time, we can definitely do that, too! We have about 30 minutes to wait while the stones heat up and then cool back down and are ready to grout. Then it's time to get dirty! You may want to wear clothes that can get stained...

Stepping stones finished in 3 hours

We grout in the grass because it's super easy to clean up that way. I show you how to mix the grout and help you to get the right consistency. Then, we spread the grout across our pieces. It needs to sit for 5-10 minutes before we can polish it off and make the glass shine and sparkle, but then we're finished and the stones are ready to take home with the girls!

Beautiful flower stepping stone

If this is something you'd like to do with your Girl Scout troop, please contact me for a list of available dates. Current pricing is $25 a girl, which is a steal!

artVenture 2013 - Girl Scouts and Fused Glass

Getting started - talking about how glass is made.

This year's artVenture took place once again at Architectural Glassarts in Lincoln, Nebraska. Thanks again to Rod Scott for his generosity in offering up his space!

We started out talking about how glass is made, how it comes to the glass shop, how to cut it and what happens after it goes in the kiln.  After the girls piece together the glass to create their design, the plates go into the kiln for an initial fusing that makes all the separate pieces into one. Then, the flat pieces go back in the kiln to get slumped into a mold. When, they come out of the kiln after the second firing, they have taken on the shape of the mold. Each group was given glass that was pre-cut to match the molds on their table.  We broke into groups and started brainstorming themes for our pieces. 

"Cold Blaze"
6.75" x 14.5"
Artists: Kaity, Jessie, Haley

Kaity, Jessie and Hallie created "Cold Blaze," a combination of an underwater scene under a blazing sunset. Can you see the fish, turtles and sea plants?

"Four Seasons"
set of four: 5.75" x 5.75"
Artists: Belle, Emma, Carrie

Belle, Emma and Carrie came up with a seasonal theme to go with the four molds they were presented. Clever, huh?

"Sunsets"
8.5" x 8.5"
Artists: Paige, Anna, Hallie

Paige, Anna and Hallie created an abstracted sunset for their piece...

Part sheets created for "Fireworks"
Artists: Noa, Laci, Krista, CJ, Jenny, Madison

...which leaves the last and largest group. This group of 6 were given glass blanks, but no mold. Generally, I coach the girls as they make their collaborative pieces which are donated to the artVenture auction. Additionally, I submit a piece of my work to be auctioned. This year, I wanted to try something different for the last piece. So, the girls made the blanks that would be cut up to become a larger panel that was pieced together and framed by me. I wasn't sure how they would react to the suggestion that they would make something specifically so it could be cut apart again. However, I think the fact that they don't get to keep the collaborative piece anyway really helps. (All the girls do get the chance to make fused glass pieces to take home. This year they all made 4"-6" plates and jewelry pieces.)

"Fireworks"
26" x 10.5"
Artists: Noa, Laci, Krista, CJ, Jenny, Madison
Pieced together by Carrie Strope Sohayda

I absolutely love how the panel turned out and once again all the girls made fantastic fused glass art!

Valentine's Date Night at the LUX - fused glass plates

The Party Table!

What better way to spend Valentine's Day, than hanging out with your sweetie and being creative with glass?!? That's what we did this year at the LUX Center for the Arts in historic University Place, Lincoln, Nebraska.

Christy and Carl with an OU plate?

Six couples joined me for music, treats and fused glass fun! We all worked on plates (and pendants or sun catchers).

Slumpfest 2011

This year's Slumpfest (the 2nd Annual) at Slumpy's in Belmont, NC was an absolute blast! The 2 day workshop focused on Pattern Bar Techniques, Layered Dichroic Tiles for Jewelry Making, and Frit Painting with NO Days Liquid Fusing Adhesive.

Nicole picked me up at the airport; it took a few texts and phone calls to find out that we were actually standing right next to each other at the baggage claim! After we searched for the car in the parking garage - "Which aisle did I park in?" muttered Nicole - we headed to Slumpy's to unpack and set up for some fun!

Date Night in Fused Glass at the LUX

Getting to know the glass...

Cutting and piecing everything in place

Glass Classes for my Trixie Kitty

"Glass for Trixie Kitty" Party - In this short workshop session, I invite you and a few friends over to play with glass. My poor kitty, Trixie has bad genetics, and nearly all of her teeth need to come out.
If the teeth don't come out, her jawbone may get infected. Then, there's risk that her jaw could break. Wish there was an easier fix. We even brushed her teeth for the last year. Didn't help. She's plaque free, but her gums are receding :(
It's expensive... Come have some fun and help me pay for my kitty's comfort.

My studio can accommodate 2-8 people comfortably. My kiln shelf is 20" x 20". $100 to fill it all up. $25 per quarter (10" x 10"). I provide all the fusible glass scrap you could need. 2-3 hour session depending on how long you decide to play! Contact me to find a time for your group!
Head on over to my website to select a date: My Classes Page.

Fused Glass Class at the LUX - Spring 2011

Finally got around to making a little video short/slideshow showing our spring fused glass class at the LUX Center for the Arts. Everyone had a great time and can't wait to do it again...after summer vacations are over!

Fused Glass at the LUX - Session 3 - Frit Painting...

Last week in class, we painted on glass with Glassline paints. This week, we experimented with painting on glass with frits using No Days Liquid Fusing Adhesive, Spectrum sheet glass and Uroboros fine frits. We used the techniques on the project sheet available on the No Days website to make fused glass coasters...but we slumped them to make cute little plates!


I took a little video of my students working, but I'm going to save that footage for a recap video for the whole class session. So, you'll have to check back for that...

Above, you can see the student projects on the top left side of the photo. Directly underneath are two test strips I did with what may replace Bullseye's French Vanilla and Aqua Blue Tint as my new play toy...Opaline. Then, my most favorite and epic piece to the left: a three layer stack up of 2" by 1/4" strips. This project was made much easier using a little HoneyDoo Zuper Glue to hold the pieces altogether. (That way, I didn't have to stack up all the pieces directly in the kiln, which would have given me a major backache, as well as been a huge headache!)


Above, all the pieces post-fire. You can see how the frits darken up a bit when they compress and fuse together. And the Opaline has gone a bit hazy to make some really gorgeous, glowing pastels. AND, I'm soooo happy that the stack-ups stayed in place!

Finally, the student pieces all finished after the slump firing:

Fused Glass at the LUX - Session 2 - Painting...

This week, we continued our exploration of fused glass by playing with paint on glass. While painting on glass is an extremely old technique that is traditionally used with stained glass windows, it's begun to edge it's way into fused glass as a way to incorporate images, patterns and designs into fired glass pieces.

We used Glassline Paints applied directly and with brushes, as design lines and as a wash. With the paints, you can use painting techniques like sgraffito, where you apply the paints and then scratch off a design, or if you're working on transparent glass, you can trace your design off of a pattern under the glass.



As you can see, the paints dry to look very washed out. However, when fired, the color comes back...


Depending upon how well the students like their outcomes, we'll incorporate these into tiles/coasters, or even cut them up to use as inclusions in our final project.


Much of my inspiration comes from quilts, textiles and fabrics. So, I tend to create larger patterned glass pieces to cut up into smaller design elements. Below, you can see the turquoise, orange and brown glass pieces have been painted with the Glassline paints...

Coming up next week, we'll continue our exploration of various forms of creating texture and design on glass with frit painting. For a quick preview of the materials we'll be using, here's a little demo video of frit painting designs on fused glass coasters: