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La Londe Web Lectures 2021

April 22    Float Glass and Enamels Web Lecture    sign up at: Glass Art

July 8   Liquid Glass Line Web Lecture    sign up at: Glass Art
 

 
La Londe Glass Fusing Workshops (1983 – 2019)
Richard La Londe was one of the first instructors for Bullseye Glass Company. Beginning in 1983 and for the next 5 years, he developed and generously shared glass fusing through classes. In 1985, Richard’s focus turned to his own artwork and he created 16 public fused glass murals and showed his art in 17 solo gallery exhibitions. Beginning in 2001, he resumed teaching again exposing artists to new ideas that he developed, which included his “liquid glass-line technique and aluminum wall mounting system. Some of the workshops were held in his personal studio on Whidbey Island, near Seattle, Washington. These special events became destination workshop experiences for many artists. Over the next 18 years he taught 135 different workshops with the majority of these being 3 – 4 days long. He taught at Pilchuck Glass School, instructed in Canada, Europe, and the USA. A sample of the various workshops taught can be viewed below from original class synopsis archived below.

 

Rattle Workshop This workshop is about FUN!!! You will work with fused glass, metal and wood in this mixed-material class. Explore your relationship with symbolic imagery and create a ceremonial art object, your personal rattle. In this class we will work with Bullseye sheet glass, frits, silver foil, and a plastic decorating bag to apply “liquid glass” lines, using various techniques that La Londe has developed. We will cut the rattle form out of aluminum 16″ – 20″ tall, attach a wooden handle, attach two glass hemispheres to create the rattle, and make a display stand.
Glass Metal BirdGlass Enamels, Metals and Float Glass You will work with fused glass, metal and wood in this mixed-material class. Explore your relationship with symbolic imagery and create a ceremonial art object, your personal rattle. In this class we will work with Bullseye sheet glass, frits, silver foil, and a plastic decorating bag to apply “liquid glass” lines, using various techniques that La Londe has developed. We will cut the rattle form out of aluminum 16″ – 20″ tall, attach a wooden handle, attach two glass hemispheres to create the rattle, and make a display stand.
Float and Bullseye Explore float glass (window glass) and make a sand mold to fuse/slump a leaf plate using silver foil and vitreous enamels. Create an “undercut” mold and make a sagged vessel. Learn how to distinguish the “tin side” from the “air side” of float glass, how to stop devitrification and about kiln firing float glass. Explore Bullseye glass by creating a Mandala with “tested compatible” sheet glass, crushed glass frit mixtures, La Londe’s liquid glass line method, and a multiple firing. We will also make a “multi-layer” cave painting tile using frit on the kiln shelf, a 3mm sheet of clear glass, the “liquid glass line” and sifted frit and stencils. Then we will fabricate an aluminum mounting system for these two tiles.
Mandala workshop websiteAdvanced Mandala plus Cave Painting We begin by designing a Mandala and over three days using “tested compatible” Bullseye 3 mm and 6 mm sheet glass, crushed glass frit mixtures, the liquid glass line method, multiple firings, we will create glass tiles. Using a rotary diamond engraver we will etch a pattern into silver foil and fuse into glass tiles. Then we will fabricate an aluminum mounting system and adhere these tiles into a pattern to create our 14″ x 14″ Mandala wall piece. On the fourth day we will use a digital stencil cutter along with the liquid glass line and silver foil to create imagery for our multi-layer 10″ x 10″ Cave Painting which we will mount on aluminum for wall hanging. This is an advanced workshop and you should be able to cut glass.
Master Class Make larger fused glass pieces and take your art to a professional level! Participants in this Master Class will design and make a 20″ x 20″ wall piece with an aluminum backing plate – ready to hang on your wall. You will also fabricate a “La Londe-style” wavy stainless steel mold.We will work in the hot shop of Island Glass Studio with Rob Adamson where you will decorate and hand-roll sheet glass – one of these sheets will then be slumped into your metal mold. We will blow a glass piece. You will watch and learn from Michael Stadler who will photograph our glass art and then we will pack our glass work and metal mold to safely ship home.You should be proficient in glass cutting, glass fusing, and also have attended one of my workshops where you learned the “liquid glass line” technique, or by instructor’s permission.
Whidbey Island Frit Fusing Extravaganza This special four day workshop is a hands-on history lesson about fused glass and is the first of a series of three workshops now taught by Richard La Londe in his studio located on beautiful Whidbey island near Seattle, Washington. During this event we will make a beach sand mold and fuse/slump window glass and enamels into it making a glass leaf bowl. You will have a chance to view Richard’s 1950’s enameled glass collection. Next we will work with “tested compatible” Bullseye glass using 3 mm and 6 mm sheet glass, crushed glass frit mixtures, the liquid glass line method, multiple firings, silver foil, and various techniques that La Londe has developed. Each participant will create (3) 8″ x 8″ fused tiles, slump a bowl,  and make an aluminum backing plate to mount one of your glass tiles for wall hanging. There are 8 hands-on projects in this class. A field trip is planned to a local glass blowing/cold working studio and a “wine and cheese” hour will allow each participant to share their work with the group. Wonderful lunches are included and will be cooked by a local chef. This is a chance for you to interact with a glass fusing pioneer in his own studio! Experience in basic glass fusing is suggested but not a requirement.
Float Glass FacesFloat Glass Faces If you want to learn about fusing float glass, then this one day workshop is for you!We will work with float glass (window glass), vitreous enamels, silver and other metal foils to create a two sided dimensional face/mask – fused and shaped in a fiber blanket mold. You will learn how to distinguish the “tin side” from the “air side” of float glass and how to create reactions with mixed metals which can enhance your artwork. Learn about firing float glass and stopping devitrification. We will also make a metal stand to display our creation.
Fusing Frit Imagery with Richard La Londe (A Three Day Workshop)This is an ambitious workshop!Explore ways to create imagery in your fusing projects with frit!Richard La Londe is known for his brightly colored images drawn with crushed glass and fused into murals and vessels. Students will warm up their design ideas with “touch drawing” monoprints on paper. We will then work with ” crystal clear sheet, crushed glass frit mixtures, a liquid glass line, multiple firings, and using various techniques that La Londe has developed, create three 8″ x 8″ tiles and a 7″ x 7″ bowl. We will also construct wall mounting systems for two of the tiles. Demonstrations, firing schedules, and slide shows will roundout this workshop. This is an opportunity to study and interact with a pioneer in glass fusing.
Vitreous Enamels, Metals and Window Glass (A Two Day Workshop)Before “tested compatible glass” there was enameled window glass. You can participate in the renaissance of glass enamels as we explore and fuse vitreous enamels and metals with inexpensive window glass. Presented through a historical context, participants will fuse enamels on top, in between, and underneath the glass surface creating vessels and tiles. We will make a beach-sand slumping mold, paint low fire enamels onto vessels, and using aluminum, brass, copper, and silver – fuse metals and glass. Hopefully recycled glass and vitreous enamels can move us toward an inexpensive, environmentally friendlier, “green glass” revolution.
Precious Metal Leaf with Richard La Londe (One Day – Limit 8 Students)In this workshop you will learn how to apply gold and silver leaf to your projects and how to fuse gold and silver foils.You will adhere gold foil to glass and etch a design into it, then cover this with a piece of clear glass, apply more gold and silver foil to the top surface and fire the tile.Students will also sandblast a design into another glass tile and apply gold leaf to the surface and also leaf the back of the tile. Techniques will be demonstrated, glass, leaf, foil, and special tools will be supplied.
Glory Hole Workshop with Richard La Londe (One Day – Limit 8 Students)

Using a small glory hole, (a gas fired reheating furnace), each participant will pull various types of glass threads and canes to fuse into their work. Using a larger glory hole we will bundle glass strips, heat and pull them into pattern bars. These will later be cut with a diamond saw. Building your own glory hole will be discussed and photographic slides will add to this advanced workshop. Glass and hot glass equipment will be supplied for this workshop.