In January 2024 I went to Mrs Potts place in Camberley Surrey, which is a cafe dedicated to mainly ceramic painting but also has a Glass fusing section available. I went there to do a glass fusing workshop, Louise the owner talked us through all the varied materials and tools they had on site. She was very friendly and the creative space was a very calm environment.

Glass fusing is very like mosaic work and the glass can take on a different shape when kilned. You use small to large pieces of more glass to make a picture. There was a large selection of materials to use and Louise described all the different base plates that could be used before starting and so we knew what shape we were aiming for and how to stand or hang it. I was very tempted to have mine shaped into a small bowl but did not think that would work well with my design so I opted to have a glass block fused to the back to help it stand as the wooden stand would cover part of my picture.

This workshop was very useful for learning about the different tools used in the glass fusing process as well. The staff were very helpful should we need help and informative. It was also very therapeutic, encouraged mindfulness and the staff were very welcoming with helpful ideas and designs. Although I had pre planned my own designs before coming to the workshop and planned to do KIRBY. I could not add as much detail as I thought I would but I do like where the glass shapes took my design it took a lot of thinking and cutting pieces of small glass to be able to achieve this. I did have a fun time learning a new art skill and hobby.

I enjoyed this workshop very much, although I found it very fiddly and difficult to be precise I am very pleased with how my Kirby has come out after being kilned.

I would highly recommend a glass fusing experience to anyone as the designs can be as simple or as complicated as you like and still look great especially in the sunshine when it is finished. I am glad I have done it although I do not think it will become a regular thing.