No experience needed for this class!

IN jewellery making, glass may not be as accessible and familiar as beads and pendants, but glass fusing is, in fact, extremely easy to pick up as a hobby.

Glass fusing is the art of joining different pieces of glass together by melting them in a kiln, and without any prior experience in any sort of craft other than the cutting and pasting of paper, I audaciously signed myself up for a glass fusing workshop with Creative Escape.

Owner and instructor Arden Williams managed to comfort me slightly by revealing that most of the class’ students have not had any prior hands on with glass fusing either.

Arden our instructor demonstrates how easy it is to shape glass

“No experience is needed at all! Not many people are aware about glass fusing and slumping, so a majority of our customers are complete beginners. We have structured our workshop as an introduction class where we give a brief overview of glass and some basic knowledge about the different properties of glass,” Arden revealed. All interested glass hobbyists have to go through a 2-hour introductory course which costs $65 with all the materials included.

Proceeding with the workshop, Arden explains that the glass type Creative Escape uses is Bullseye COE 90, a high quality brand commonly used among artists all over the world. Glass with different COEs are also not compatible to be fused together as they expand and contract at different rates.

We were allowed to pick between earrings, pendants, coasters or cuff links to create during the class, and being an accessory junkie, I chose pendants. The very first step was deciding the size, shape, and colours of the pendants.

Then came the first tricky part – glass cutting. The cutting of glass evokes a very industrial image in my head, with me wearing thick yellow gloves, an apron, and safety goggles, operating a big metal machine with many handles and axles.

In reality, it all came down slightly disappointingly to a neat little glass cutter which resembles a pen. Completely harmless and easy to hold, it cuts glass as easily as penknife with paper. With the right amount of pressure and accuracy, and it’s easy to get used to the technique, even tiny pieces of glass can be shaped perfectly within minutes.

After all the pieces of glass are ready, it’s just a matter of stacking the bits and doing some simple calculation to even out the height of the pendant before it’s ready to go straight into the kiln. Within two hours, I managed to create four pendants using opaque, opalescent, transparent, and dichroic glass, with the help of some floral decals on one of the pieces too.		My first attempt at glass fusing, ready for melting
The finished works of art! At Creative Escape, the glass fusing pieces are melted in an industrial kiln, so students are fortunate to have that process left to Arden. Students can then pick up their finished glass-fused works three days later at the shop. With some finishing touches with some wirework, bails, and glue, all the pieces are ready to wear after a day to let the glue secure the connectors!

I was absolutely amazed at how simple methods can result in beautiful and unique pieces of accessories, and even though I made some measurement and cutting mistakes, it all fused beautifully and looked deliberate. Arden thrives on the thrill of knowing that she can create all the attractive jewellery she finds at pushcart shops in Singapore, and says that with glass, it’s all about being very creative and experimenting with new ideas. “I find it amazing how you can take a small piece of unwanted scrap glass and turn it into a beautiful piece. The process of experimenting with the different types and colours of glass is also something I like very much. Sometimes you make mistakes and it turns out pretty well, so you really have to keep trying out different techniques to see the results. Glasswork is also a very green hobby, because you can also reuse all scrap glass!” About Creative Escape’s glass fusing workshop Glass fusing is the latest craft to be introduced, and all workshops are scheduled by appointment. The introductory classes can accommodate up to four students, and is not advisable for children under 12 as the handling of glass pieces can be a little tricky. After the introduction class, students are welcomed to use the studio and its materials, which are sufficient for creating the same amount of pieces as in the introductory class, for $25 every two hours. Extra charges would only be made if you require bigger pieces of glass and extra firing sessions, and absolutely no extra charges at all for Arden’s extra help on the pieces you’re creating. Just like the unlimited ideas you can apply to glasswork, Arden’s glass fusing workshops are not limited to classes within her shop. Glass fusing workshops can be custom-made for birthday parties and other mobile services as well.
We turned scrap glass into beautiful pendants		Create crafts freely at Creative Escape

About Creative Escape

Creative Escape is a cosy little space located at 309 River Valley Road, where craft enthusiasts can delve into different crafts like pottery, glass, T-shirt, and ceramic painting, scrapbooking, and jewellery making as well.

Opened last January, Creative Escape “is a very social and interactive space where craft hobbyists can bounce off ideas with each other and create unique crafts with all the materials at hand,” as owner Arden puts it.

Arden also reveals that Creative Escape is planning to introduce a silver clay workshop in August, so stay tuned to their website, http://www.creative-escape.com.sg/, for the newest updates!