Middle School Camp! Flame Fire Fun: Glass Beadmaking

Dive into the ancient art of flameworking to create your own wearable beads and mini glass sculptures! Using heat, gravity, and a few simple hand tools, students will learn how to safely operate a table torch to melt and shape glass rods into colorful beads, charms and sculptures. We’ll learn the basics of pinching, poking, and stretching glass into 3D forms that showcase your unique style, and explore cool tips and tricks for adding textures and details like dots, stripes and twists. Get ready for a flame-filled adventure that’s all about bringing your wildest ideas to life!

What to Expect: This class is designed for beginners, but students with experience are welcome and will be able to work on more complex projects. Class size is limited to 10 students with 3 expert instructors for an excellent student:teacher ratio. Students will learn how to heat, weld, and shape molten glass (2,000 degrees) in the gas-oxygen flame of a stationary table torch. Studio safety and proper tool use will all be covered in a fun and exciting environment, with plenty of practice time and demonstrations. Students will break at midday for lunch, but will not leave the building. On the final day, family and friends are invited to a showing of students' experiments and finished work. Read more about how to prepare for class on our Registration Info page. 

Eligibility: No previous experience required. Open to all rising and current middle school students.

Sliding-scale Pricing: We offer sliding-scale pricing options for youth camps in an effort to provide greater access to glass education for our growing community of young creatives. Please self-select the pricing tier most appropriate for your financial situation. Families who are able to should select the higher tuition so that we can continue to offer our programs with ample staffing of expert teaching artists, and top quality glassmaking tools and materials in our state of the art studios. 

Please note: Advance registration is required, as enrollment minimums must be met two weeks before the first day of camp. Once you register, you’ll receive enrollment confirmation, additional information about the camp, including health and safety guidelines, and reminders via email. For questions, please email [email protected].

Host or Publisher UrbanGlass