Learn to create a stained-glass window in this class for beginners and those looking to refresh their skills.
A stained-glass window measuring about 20 inches by 20 inches.
A $78 materials fee included in the class price covers glass, drafting paper, pattern film, zinc and lead, and miscellaneous other supplies. Students are encouraged to use glass from the glass studio. However, you can buy or bring your own.
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Gregg Mesmer was recognized as an Island Treasure in 2015. He and his wife, Diane Bonciolini, both of Mesolini Glass Studio, moved to Bainbridge Island in 1977 and started their iconic glass studio. They have been working in the art glass industry professionally for decades. Their expertise, however, goes beyond glass cutting to include other types of fabrication, all aspects of creating stained glass art, copper foil, glass fusing, public art, and teaching.
Over the years they have worked on many community Art in Public Places projects such as the Bainbridge Beach Glass Quilt, the Waypoint beach glass project, Rotary Centennial Park, as well as others. Many of their projects include school-age students on Bainbridge and beyond. Gregg has taught for Northwest Art Glass, the Bainbridge Park & Recreation District, and Olympic College.
Teens (7th-12th grade), come on down to BARN for a free evening of art, friends, music, and creativity! You're not going to want to miss it. We'll have pizza and snacks and you'll get to choose from activities like cooking, woodworking, sewing, jewelry making, metal working, and more - every month is a different lineup. Come with a friend or come on your own and meet new friends!
Teen Night is so popular that we're now requiring registration to ensure that there's enough food and activities for everyone!
We're grateful to the City of Bainbridge Island for their financial support so we can offer this event for teens in our community!
Learn about fine silver, silver foil, and dichroic glass while creating your own cosmic torchworked bead.
Fine silver and dichroic glass are two of the most versatile and attractive applications that can be added to torchwork (often called lampwork or flamework) glass.
This class includes discussions about fine silver and its various forms and applications. Beyond silver's familiar shine, a variety of mystical looking colors and effects can be created with the heat of the torch. Also covered is silver foil, and dichroic glass - a glass that appears to be one color in reflected light, and another color when light shines through it.
Using what's been learned, you create a cosmic bead with the glittering stars and purple-blue atmospheres of faraway galaxies.
Orientation to Torchwork and Introduction to Beadmaking.
Michele has taught lampworking at Oregon Institute of Technology and Klamath Community College, and has written articles for Softflex Jewelry Company.
Learn how to work with our propane/oxygen torches and borosilicate glass to make simple marbles.
We'll start with a safety orientation and introduction to our lampworking tools and equipment. You will learn to:
Completing this class and demonstrating competence with the lampworking tools and equipment will check you off for lampworking on your Glass Studio skills card, allowing you to use them during open studio.
Heads up: It's recommended to work standing up (rather than sitting), so be advised that you'll be on your feet for much of class. If you prefer to sit, we strongly recommend you bring your own leather apron in case of hot, rolling marbles.
Marbles of borosilicate glass
All needed materials will be provided.
Grae Drake - Grae has worked with glass for only a couple of years now but he's deeply in love with it. There isn't much that beats the zen of standing over a warm torch wrangling red-hot molten glass into shape. In previous lives, he's been a tech entrepreneur, corporate lawyer, juvenile delinquent and, since May 2022, BARN's executive director.
Coldworking is a way of altering and sculpting glass once cold - from seaming edges to complete transformations.
In this class, you will learn in-depth, different approaches to the belt sander, wet saw, and hand lapping - and discuss the potential of each technique. You will learn how to bring rough-ground surfaces to a full polish and talk about the aesthetic possibilities of leaving a surface matte. We also will cover glass glues and their possibilities in an artist’s work. The class will include a safety talk and demos on each machine. We will walk through the rules of what tool to use for what purpose and have time on the machines to get our projects moving. Then we will focus on becoming familiar with each machine and have an opportunity to ask for specific demos and tips. You will gain the most from this class if you come with some of your own glass and a plan or some sketches on the potential alterations you're interested in making.
This class will include many tips and techniques to help make you more comfortable and skilled at successfully finishing projects.
Ages 14 and up are welcome.
View BARN’s current COVID-19 health and safety protocols.
BARN is committed to accessibility. Tuition assistance is available. Fill out the application before registering.
For those who might need physical assistance, learn more about our Companion Program.
Jeff Miller is educated in architectural design and extensively experienced in the use of power tools. His retirement has provided opportunities to explore ways to improve the predictability of glass design and woodworking projects.
"Both during initial cutting and fabrication of glass projects and final finishing of fired pieces, the studio's power tools can greatly enhance the beauty and usefulness of your design," he says.
Create striking floral images using frit powders of various colors and dried foliage.
In the first three-hour session, you will come to understand the necessary safety and cleanup practices when it comes to using glass powders. Then, with step-by-step instruction, you will practice the process of layering frit to colorize the dried foliage you have chosen to decorate your dishware.
Frit combined with foliage creates delicate organic images that will complement your food presentation or anything you might imagine.
Wear close-toed shoes and long pants in the Glass Studio at all times.
You will make one 9”x9” square swoop serving piece, one 3"x9" channel plate, and three 3”x3” condiment dishes.
Instructions will be sent to each student on how to dry and store your foliage before class.
Diane Bonciolini is the "olini" of Mesolini Glass Studio. Glass is her passion. As a full-time glass artist who has lived and worked on Bainbridge Island since 1977, she grows and changes with every project. She describes glass as having a life of its own. This multifaceted medium shows itself in each of her creations: stained glass, slumped and fused glass, lamp work, or glass combined with concrete.
A fun workshop that takes the lampworker into the world of the traditional Venetian technique of figure development.
This class will be taught using soft glass (Effetre), although the same principles can be applied to any other glass that is typically used for torchwork.
We will complete a human torso, a polar bear, a duck, a fish, and/or a penguin. As you gain competency in this technique, it can be applied to almost any subject imaginable.
She has taught lampworking at Oregon Institute of Technology and Klamath Community College, and has written articles for Softflex Jewelry Co. She is a member of the International Society of Glass Beadmakers and the Glass Dragons. She volunteers for the Humane Society and, before Covid, enjoyed traveling, scuba diving, and underwater photography.
Learn basic glass and kiln concepts, techniques, and tools while creating functional fused glass pieces to take home.
Learn safety basics, glass studio procedures, fused glass design concepts, and basic physics of heat and glass.
Day 1:
Day 2:
Day 3:
Each student will create a fused glass piece to take home in each session.
Materials needed will be provided.
Donna Rodger has been creating glass since 2017. Teaching introductory classes and mentoring is a natural extension of her career as a Critical Care Nurse Educator.
Taking complex concepts and tasks and breaking them down into easily understood pieces is her strength.
Learn the techniques and tools to the fascinating art of glass cutting - along with a few simple tricks.
The art of glass cutting is fascinating, exciting, and empowering when you're successful. When you're not, it can stop you in your tracks and be very expensive. You can master this art with a few simple tricks, and some patience.
Instructor Gregg Mesmer of Mesolini Glass Studio focuses on basic techniques, circle cutting, curves, strip cutting, and more while allowing plenty of time for practice and personal attention. After demonstrations, conversation, and practice, you will have a better understanding of techniques and tools that make cutting glass a breeze.
Gregg Mesmer was recognized as an Island Treasure in 2015 as was his wife, Diane Bonciolini. They moved to Bainbridge in 1977 and started their iconic glass studio and have been working in the art glass industry professionally for decades. Their expertise, however, goes beyond glass cutting to include other types of fabrication, all aspects of creating stained glass art, copper foil, glass fusing, public art, and teaching.
They have worked on many community art projects such as the Bainbridge Beach Glass Quilt, the Waypoint beach glass project and Rotary Centennial Park. Gregg has taught for Northwest Art Glass, the Bainbridge Park & Recreation District, and Olympic College.
Create a strained-glass window from design to cutting, wrapping, and soldering while opening the door to more classes.
The art of stained glass is a technique of the ages and the beauty of light filtering through colored glass is awe-inspiring.
Create a stained-glass window using the copper foil technique. You will design, choose your colors, cut glass, precisely fit, wrap your glass pieces in copper foil, and learn a style of soldering unique to copper foil.
Following this class, you will be cleared for copper foil fabrication in Glass Studio open studio workshops and be eligible for intermediate and advanced copper foil classes. This also serves as the prerequisite for glass cutting required in any other class.
You will create an 18” x 18” stained-glass window.
Bring ideas or sketches to class. There will be time for editing and transferring your design during our first session. Designs should have no more than 40 pieces.
This intensive four-session class introduces you to some of the wonderful options for working with glass powders.
Be guided through ways of working with powders to create visually complex and layered 4" x 4" samples. Join discussions about design and how to work with color. While no previous experience with glass is necessary, knowing about how to cut glass is helpful. We have a glass cutting class available April 5.
Students please bring:
Martha Pfanschmidt has been working as a professional artist since joining a printmaking studio in 1982. She has taught at the university level and privately for more than 35 years. Her love of art and of creating beautiful objects has inspired her to explore a variety of media, but currently she works with paper, encaustic painting, and kiln glass. Her work is part of many private and public collections, and has been shown all over the world. She is represented by Waterstone Gallery in Portland, Ore., and Davidson Gallery in Seattle.
Glass cutting can be fascinating, exciting, and empowering. But when you're not successful, it can stop you in your tracks and be very expensive.You can master this art with a few simple tricks and some patience. Instructor Gregg Mesmer focuses on basic techniques, circle cutting, curves, strip cutting, and more while allowing plenty of time for practice and personal attention. After demonstrations, conversation, and practice, you will have a better understanding of techniques and tools that make cutting glass a breeze.
Gregg Mesmer was recognized as an Island Treasure in 2015 with his wife, Diane Bonciolini, both of Mesolini Glass Studio. They moved to Bainbridge Island in 1977, started their iconic studio, and have been working in the art glass industry for decades. Their expertise goes beyond glass cutting to include other types of fabrication, all aspects of creating stained glass art, copper foil, glass fusing, public art, and teaching.
Over the years they have worked on many community art projects such as the Bainbridge Beach Glass Quilt, the Waypoint beach glass project, and Rotary Centennial Park. Gregg has taught for Northwest Art Glass, the Bainbridge Park District, and Olympic College.
