Earlier this month, I had the opportunity to teach a Cows & Cuddles fused glass class at Double M Farm. What a fun combination—adorable cows, a beautiful farm setting, and, of course, fused glass! Here are a few of the sample suncatchers I created for the class. I wanted to give everyone ideas while still leaving plenty of room for them to choose their own colors, glass, decals, and little embellishments to make each piece completely their own. I loved how these turned out, and I had such a wonderful time-sharing fused glass in such a fun and unique setting. 🐄☀️❤️
I normally teach my fused glass classes in my home studio, so taking a class on the road was a little different—and a lot of fun! Double M Farm provided a beautiful space for us to spread out and get creative. I brought along a huge assortment of glass so everyone would have plenty of choices, including vitrigraph, glass dots, frit, stringers, millefiori, decals, pre-cut glass pieces, and lots of other little treasures. I also brought tools, supplies, sample pieces, and everything we would need to design and assemble the suncatchers. As you can see from the photos, setting up an off-site fused glass class takes quite a bit of preparation! I wanted the students to be able to browse through the glass and embellishments just as they would in my home studio and find those special little pieces that made their suncatcher uniquely theirs. Seeing all that colorful glass spread across the tables made me happy!
It wouldn’t be Cows, Cuddles & Fused Glass without spending some time with the adorable residents of Double M Farm! After working with glass, we had the chance to get outside and meet some of the cows up close—and they were absolutely precious. From those big fuzzy faces and curious noses poking through the fence to the smaller cows that were happy to get some attention, they completely stole the show. I’m not sure who enjoyed the cuddles more, us or the cows! 😂 It was such a fun addition to the day and made this class unlike any fused glass class I’ve taught before.
Once everyone had settled in, it was time for the fun to begin! My students headed straight for the Glass Market to choose their favorite colors, decals, vitrigraph, glass dots, and other embellishments. With so many possibilities, deciding what to use was half the fun! I loved watching everyone’s creativity come to life. Some carefully planned every detail, while others experimented with different colors and arrangements until they found something they loved. There was plenty of conversation, laughter, and sharing of ideas as everyone worked on their own unique suncatcher. One of my favorite things about teaching fused glass is watching people discover what they can create, especially when they have never worked with glass before. It’s always exciting to see how different everyone’s designs turn out, even when they start with similar materials.
After the class, I carefully brought everyone’s creations back to my studio for firing, and I absolutely loved seeing how they transformed in the kiln! This is one of my favorite parts of teaching fused glass—the individual pieces of glass melt together and suddenly all those ideas become finished works of art. And just look at the variety! Some students incorporated decals into their designs, while others created their own flowers, butterflies, landscapes and garden scenes. We even ended up with a colorful rooster, a bunny, cows, and lots of beautiful little details made from dots, vitrigraph, millefiori and other glass embellishments. What I love most is that everyone had access to the same tables full of glass, but each person created something completely different. That is what makes fused glass so much fun—there really is no wrong way to be creative. ❤️ And I think these two photos deserve to be large in the blog, Karen. There is so much detail in these pieces that I wouldn’t put them into a tiny collage. Readers will want to zoom in and look at all the little surprises. 🥰
In addition to creating their suncatchers, each student also got to make a fused glass magnet using one of my decals. I brought along lots of designs to choose from, including farm-inspired decals as well as other fun options. There were cows, Highland cows, horses, birds, western designs and more. The students chose a decal they liked, paired it with a piece of white glass, and some added a little glass accent for extra color and personality. It was a quick little project, but a fun way for everyone to try another fused glass technique—and they got an extra handmade keepsake to remember our day at the farm.
What a fun and memorable day at Double M Farm! I loved having the opportunity to take my fused glass class outside my usual home studio, meet such a wonderful group of creative people, and combine glass, cows, and plenty of laughter. To make the day even more special, our host surprised each of us with a beautiful heart-shaped slate keepsake engraved with the Double M Farm logo. It was such a thoughtful gift and the perfect reminder of a very special day. Thank you to Double M Farm and everyone who joined me for Cows, Cuddles & Fused Glass—I hope every time you see your suncatcher hanging in the sunshine, you remember just how much fun we had creating together. 🐄☀️❤️
If you’d like to see more of my fused glass creations, be sure to visit my website, Elegant Fused Glass by Karen. While you’re there, take a peek at the full site—and don’t miss my Elegant Fused Glass by Karen YouTube channel for videos and behind-the-scenes fun. Want to stay in the loop? Subscribe to my monthly newsletter, published on the last day of each month, where I share updates, tips, and a closer look at my fused glass jewelry and projects.
Keeping my kilns warm,
Karen
