My Hero Bob.
A lot of my tools, equipment and glass I buy from a supplier based in Bristol called Warm Glass. Warm Glass are very good at what they do, have great customer service and also run very good classes and workshops
About 8 months ago I saw a Master Class advertised at Warm Glass entitled "Wafer Wonders" run by a Canadian glass artist Bob Leatherbarrow and immediately booked myself on it. Places on this class were limited to 8 and within 15mins of it being advertised all places had gone.
"Bob Leatherbarrow established Leatherbarrow Glass Studio in Calgary in 1988 and has created original kilnformed glass ever since. Known for his innovative styles, techniques, and designs, Bob has taken an experimental approach to developing unique textures and colour palettes using glass powders. His kiln-formed glass bowls and sculptures explore the subtle hues and delicate beauty of naturally occurring textures and encourage the viewer to ponder their origin."
(This extract was taken from his web site).
So on the 24th April I flew down to Bristol to begin my 5 day Master Class in "Wafer Wonders" and what a brilliant 5 days it was. To be able to have time to play with ideas while learning new skills is something all artists should give themselves. Bob taught us how to use the idea of mono printing with lino, (or in his words linoleum ) to create beautifully delicate wafers of glass to embellish our glass work.
Bob, in a former life was a geologist so a lot of his images are based on skeletal fish, which he makes as wafers of glass and then fuses them onto glass to form sushi dishes.
You can see from theimages below, I used a jellyfish and a shell cut out of lino . Then these were pressed into glass powder that had been sifted onto a ceramic tile. These tiles were then carefully lifted into the kiln and fired.
Once they were fired they were then painted with powders , enamels and micas. The wafers were then fired again, and once happy with the colours they were put back into the kiln onto glass already prepared to be sushi dishes and fired for the last time.
Bob is a very good teacher. He is gentle, patient, calm and encouraging. He gives you time to play and experiment and if you make a mistake that is fine.
Friendships were made with the 7 other students, socialising and exchanging stories is all part of the experience.
Eight people from very different backgrounds came together for 5 days to work with a highly skilled and knowledgable teacher who was very generous with his knowledge and all came away a little bit richer in many ways for the experience, so a big "Thank you Bob"
Bob says he is retired but from the work he produces and the masterclasses he runs you would never guess. He is now also producing e-books that explain some of the techniques he has developed, something I think I will be investing in.