- The Home Channel - https://thehomechannel.co.za -

Glass

Glass forming dates back as far as 4000 years back and it is still hugely popular today. This week on Show Me How, Gloria Bastos is joined by Marileen van Wyk from GFA studios and she shows us the endless possibilities of what can be created with glass. She will teach us various techniques such as working with hot glass, creating different glass shapes, designs and so much more! We also visit her in her studio where she shows us why she fell in love with this craft. Don’t miss Show Me How, only on The Home Channel.

Wine Glass Tag
By Marileen van Wyk
Glass Forming Academy
0835302800

Requirements

Instructions

Pre-Prepare:

Ribbon cane, green stringers, black stringer

  1. Heat the tip of the glass until it forms a small ball shape, keeping it centre all the time.
  2. Remove the molten ball from the flame, let it cool a little, grab a small piece in the front of the molten ball and slowly pull a thing stringer from the molten glass ball.
  3. Grab the stringer in its middle with your tweezer and melt it off at the rod.
  4. You can now leave it to cool before using it on the bead which will be made next.

Steps to make the frog character:

  1. Heat the mandrel at the end which is coated with the bead release.
  2. Using the ribbon cane, heat the tip of the glass and wind the ribbon cane around the mandrel about 1.5cm from left to right. This is the start of your glass bead.
  3. Wind another layer with the ribbon cane around the first to create a bigger bead.
  4. Heating the tip of the clear glass, cover the ribbon cane with the clear glass until a ball shape is acquired.
  5. Now let the bead on the mandrel cool a little but keep it hot in the back of the flame.
  6. Heat the tip of the green glass for the frog.
  7. Press the tip of the green glass onto the bead and drag in a diagonal direction across the bead to shape the frog.
  8. Melt the green glass rod off after dragging it across the bead for about 1cm. The part where the green glass is melted off will be the head of the frog, as it creates a natural bump.
  9. Working very carefully in the flame, heat the tip of the green stringer to draw in the legs and feet of the frog.
  10. Heating the tip of the white glass, dab it on the one and then the other side frog’s head. These white bumps will be the frog’s eyes.
  11. Heat the tip of the black stringer to dab a tiny black spot onto the white bump to finish the detail of the eyes.
  12. The glass bead has now lost a lot of heat, just heat the bead throughout without melting the detail of the frog.
  13. Then cool the bead in the cooler part of the flame, at the back, once the actual colour from the glass reappears, put the bead in the vermiculite to cool slowly.

Wine glass tag assembly

What you will need:

  • Frog character bead
  • Memory wire
  • 1 x long metal pin
  • 2 x small bead cups
  • 1 x metal ‘O’ ring
  • 1 x small silver bead
  • Small round tipped pliers
  • Normal small pliers
  • Wine glass
How to assemble:

  1. Take the metal pin and hold it with the head of the pin at the bottom.
  2. Take a small bead cup and string it into the pin with the cup showing up.
  3. Take the glass character and string it into the pin.
  4. Take the 2nd bead cup and string it into the pin with the cup showing down.
  5. String the small silver bead.
  6. Using the round tipped pliers, wind the pin from the end down to the bead to create a ring.
  7. Using the 2 pliers, open the O ring, put it through the pin’s ring and close it again.
  8. Cut the desired length of memory wire and put it through the O ring.
  9. The wine glass tag is finished and ready to tag a wine glass.

Glass Owl Keyring
By Marileen van Wyk
Glass Forming Academy
0835302800

Requirements

Instructions

Pre-Prepare:

Medium green stringer, black stringer, yellow stringer

  1. Heat the tip of the glass until it forms a small ball shape, keeping it centre all the time.
  2. Remove the molten ball from the flame, let it cool a little, grab a small piece in the front of the molten ball and slowly pull a thin stringer from the molten glass ball.
  3. Grab the stringer in its middle with your tweezer and melt it off at the rod.
  4. You can now leave it to cool before using it on the bead which will be made next.

Steps to make the owl character:

  1. Heat the mandrel on the side which is coated in the bead release.
  2. Heat the tip of the red glass rod, rest the molten glass on the mandrel and turn the mandrel to wind the glass around the mandrel about 1.5cm from left to right.
  3. Heat the red glass rod some more and keep adding glass to the bead to make it bigger until you have a plump oval shape.
  4. Heat the bead throughout to a bright yellow colour and shape it in the appropriate size using the hollow graphite paddle.
  5. Now let the bead on the mandrel cool a little but keep it hot in the back of the flame.
  6. Heat the tip of the light green glass rod and dab it at the top of the flat side to leave a bump of light green glass behind.
  7. Melt the green bump and push it flat against the red bead using the hollow graphite paddle again. The light green bump has now become a big green spot.
  8. Heat the green spot and rake it from the edge where it meets the red glass, into the middle of the green spot. The raking should be done in the direction of the mandrel. The green spot should now start to take on a heart shape. You have now created the face for the eyes and beak.
  9. Heat the tip of the light green glass rod and drag it on the outer edges from the top to the bottom, in the direction of the mandrel. These are the wings of the owl. Take care not to melt the wings into the red body of the owl.
  10. The tail feathers are next. It should now become clear where the front and the back of the owl is. Heat the tip of the light green glass rod and at the bottom of the back side of the owl, dab and drag the green glass in a downward diagonal direction. Drag another green bit using the same starting point, but dragging it to the other side. The tail feathers should take on an upside down heart shape appearance. Again, take care not to melt the protruding detail.
  11. One the front side of the owl, you will now draw the chest feathers. This should be done with great care as not to overheat the stringer. Heat the tip of the medium green stringer, with small movements, dab and drag down, almost like making comma points, to draw the feathers. Keep doing this until the chest is covered in feathers.
  12. For the eyes, heat the tip of the black stringer and dab 2 small blobs on either side in the light green heart shape made earlier.
  13. Heat the small black blobs and push flat using the graphite paddle. This way the owl has protruding eyes.
  14. For the beak, heat the tip of the yellow stringer and add a blob in the middle underneath the 2 eyes. Using your graphite paddle, shape the beak to the desired appearance.
  15. At the bottom of the owl you need to add some feet. Heat the tip of the yellow stringer and draw a ‘V’ shape on either side of the mandrel for the feet.
  16. For the ear feathers, heat the tip of the red glass rod, dab a blob on either side of the mandrel at the top of the owl to finish with the ear feathers. Heat one blob at a time and using your metal tweezer, pull the blobs into pointy tips to shape the characteristic ear feathers.
  17. Heat the bead throughout without melting the detail of the owl.
  18. Then cool the bead in the back of the flame, once the actual colour of the glass reappears, put the bead in the vermiculite to cool slowly.
What you will need:

  • Glass character
  • 1 x long metal pin
  • 1 x small bead cups
  • Small ‘silver’ bead findings
  • 1 x metal O ring
  • Round tipped pliers
  • Normal small pliers
  • Keyring
How to assemble:

  1. Take the metal pin and hold it with the head of the pin at the bottom.
  2. Take a small bead cup and string it into the pin with the cup showing up.
  3. Take the glass character and string it into the pin, feet first.
  4. String the small silver bead findings in any order you like.
  5. Using the round tipped pliers, wind the pin from the end down to the bead to create a ring.
  6. Using the 2 pliers, open the O ring, put it through the pin’s ring and close it again.
  7. Put the keyring through the O ring.
  8. The keyring is now finished and ready for your keys.

Take a closer look

Final Tiles Gallery id=31 does not exist