I started with glass fusing at one of those places where you come in, you pick a pre-defined project and then hand it over to the facilitator - you come back later to pick up the final piece. I enjoyed that and did it a couple of times.
I wanted to do more however I didn't have all of the equipment you need to finish a piece of glass (kiln, grinder, sandblaster, diamond saw). The equipment is both massive and expensive. Some of it is very dusty (sandblaster) and other pieces require water supply (grinder, saw). Some requires special ventilation (kiln, sandblaster) and a lot of knowledge to use these pieces safely.
My next step was to take a couple of classes with Bullseye, again, somewhat pre-defined projects with limited opportunity to go in your own direction. The good news is that they offer "studio time" which allows you to use their equipment, for a fee.
Finally I met Nathan. While he didn't invent the vitrigraph kiln, he did a lot of original innovation in what can be done with it and has taught classes far and wide to others who want to learn his process. He is also very experienced and talented with kiln glass - creating your design in a piece of glass, perhaps dropping it through a mold to create a vase or a bowl and then all of the "cold work" that I alluded to above. Nathan is a great teacher and after taking a couple of on-line classes from him, I've taken a class from him in his studio. I've made a couple of projects there and I am continuing to go back to work on other projects, expanding on the knowledge I've accumulated.
When I started my most recent class I was not very successful with cutting circles of glass. Nathan identified part of the problem was that I had a similar but not the right tool. The other part was to get out of my head and just do it until I was comfortable. Now I'm feeling very comfortable cutting circles, loading terracotta pots with glass, pulling cane (rods of glass) out of the bottom of the vitrigraph kiln and chopping those up into murrini and moving them on through other processes.
Nathan is available to answer questions as I am assembling my work, his studio has all of the equipment I need to create my own projects and it's more affordable than Bullseye. I am eager to see what he still has to teach me as I keep moving forward in my own learning.
He is also an artist that creates a variety of pieces that you can purchase for your home or a gift. Additionally, he makes very high quality molds that will likely outlast you unless you drop them. Finally, if the finished piece of glass or the molds he has on offer aren't exactly what you are looking for, he might consider taking on a commission to make exactly what you want.
I highly recommend Nathan to people who want to get into kiln glass. He knows his stuff, has a well equipped studio that will take you as far as you like and his rates are very reasonable. read more