Glass Society of Ireland

GLASS AND BRONZE WORKSHOPS AT LEITRIM SCULPTURE CENTRE, MANORHAMILTON

Glassblowing for Beginners Workshop
15th & 16th October / 19th & 20th October 2011
Trainer: Louise Rice & Graham Reid. Course Fees: €240 (two days) 10am – 5pm
Participants: 6. Experience: No experience required.

In this two-day workshop you will explore the extraordinary medium of hot glass. You will learn how to gather glass out of the furnace, to control and shape the hot glass, to blow a bubble and make a simple vessel. Working in two small teams, the emphasis of this course is hands-on experience, with demos and support from an experienced glassblower. Louise Rice is based at the Sculpture Centre in Manorhamilton and studied glass at Edinburgh College of Art and the Rietveld Acadamie in Amsterdam.

Advanced Refractory Mouldmaking for Kiln Cast Glass & Bronze Casting Workshop
Friday 21st – Sunday 23rd October 2011
Trainer: Keith Seybert. Course Fees: €200 (three days) 10am – 5pm
Participants: 8. Experience: Some basic experience required.

This workshop will cover how to make a successful investment type refractory mould for casting Bronze or Glass. You come with a vision, a wax and a will to work, and you’ll leave with a mould ready to “burn out” and pour in the next bronze workshop. Mould construction, “Gating & venting”, investment refractories, and ceramic based mould materials will be discussed with an aim towards enabling participants to “customise” their approach to fit their vision. Both poured “block” moulds and Roman/Italian “hand built” moulds will be demonstrated.

Bronze Casting Using Solid Investment Workshop
Thursday 3rd - Sunday 6th November 2011
Trainer: Tim Morris. Course Fees: €370 (four days) -10am to 5pm
Participants: 8. Experience: No experience required

Participants will make a piece of sculpture working directly with wax, vent and sprew, make an investment mould and cast their own piece on the final day to make a finished bronze. On this course, you will get to make probably two moulds, depending upon their size and complexity. One of which you will have time to melt out and pour in the bronze. Generally, a beginner will come away with a minimum of one rough bronze (for example a 6" statue or axe head). You may not have time to file and clean it, but this can be done in your own time. Finished bronzes can then be patinated on the Patination Workshop. Extra moulds can be poured at another time. Your work will be weighed on the last day and anything over 10lbs will be charged at €5 / lb. For example, two 6" statues will generally be less than 10lbs, so for most people, no extra payment will be necessary.

E: info@leitrimsculpturecentre.ie
W: www.leitrimsculpturecentre.ie
T: 071 985 5098