Friday-Saturday - Oct. 15-16, 2010
$485.00 Lunches and Materials included

and...
Soft-Glass Sculpture Demonstration
Sunday - October 17, 2010
Boston Chapter ISGB meeting
FREE and open to the public!

In this two-day workshop, students will learn techniques for sculpting soft glass "off mandrel" through demonstrations followed by hands-on learning with direct assistance from teacher. Use of various tools and application of sculpting techniques will be discussed, along with suggestions of basic techniques which are extremely useful to improving handling of soft glass "off mandrel." Steps for making birds, fish, and insects, as well as simple and fun four-legged animals will be taught.

Growing up in rural Pennsylvania, I spent my days exploring the space beneath logs and rocks or reading science fiction. As a result the shapes and colors of the natural world, as well as my own wacky imagination, are the main sources for my work.

With some of my glass beetles for example, I try to capture and mimic an actual species with intricate detail on the tiny limbs and thorax. While in other pieces, I attempt to bring into being a creature from an inner reality or a dream. In some cases I merge the fantastical with the real through choice of color palette or by referencing familiar images in a mythical work.

Regardless of the end result, I find great joy in sculpting glass - witnessing the transformation of a brittle and cold substance to a molten and pliable material then back to a solid form again.

Website: http://www.wesleyfleming.com/
email: contact@wesleyfleming.com