Snow Farm Summer is one of the few places that offers a serious studio experience in glass for high school students. In flameworking, also known as lampworking and torchworking, solid rods and tubes of glass are melted using a table-top torch that can get as hot as 5000 degrees F.
Curriculum
Students will learn safe operation of the torch, kilns, and tools made of graphite, brass, or steel. Lessons will include melting, shaping, sculpting, and decorating the glass. Projects may include beads, marbles, pendants, small vessels, and intricate sculpture. Students will work in both borosillicate and soda lime glass. Flameworking is suprisingly accessible, while at the same time offering a world of possibility for each artist's personal touch. Longtime instructors Alex Cincotta and Angie McHale show us around the studio below.
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Equipment
Ten torches are situated along the outer edge of a large communal table. The instructor is able to move freely and quickly around the table to answer questions and offer continuous feedback and instruction. The studio runs on tanked oxygen and propane. A full assortment of soft and borosillicate glass, both clear and colored, is available for student use. Equipment includes: 10 Nortel Minor burners, six annealers various sizes and styles including a Paragon Guillotine and XL, a 10-inch wet lap wheel, and a commercial murrini saw. Dydium glasses and all necessary hand tools are available to students in individual took kits in the studio. For more pictures, see the main flameworking page.