This is a relaxed morning or afternoon session of up to three hours duration. It includes tea, coffee and biscuits and an introduction to the glassblowing studio. We talk about the tools and equipment used in glassblowing, the compositions of various types of glass, and illustrate the properties of glass with practical demonstrations. Finally, we blow several glass vessels, chosen to show a wide range of glassworking techniques.
The session is weighted towards Roman and medieval glass, and would suit various groups or societies, including U3A and WI groups, history and archaeology societies, and museum staff. If you wish us to concentrate on a specific area of glassworking, please discuss this with us when booking.
We can also provide a small display of our Roman Furnace Project material, and, weather permitting, give a short tour of the wood-fired furnaces (which are now forming tomorrow’s archaeology!)
Our charge for 2010 is £70 per session, for a group of up to 30 people. We accept group visits at weekends as well as during the week. There is parking space at Project Workshops for a coach as well as plenty of space for cars.
Parents and grandparents - bring the children to watch glass being blown and have the opportunity to blow a bubble (the grown-ups can try this as well!)
This is a short, informal and entertaining session, with a little bit of education for good measure! The demonstrations are accompanied by a commentary and 'blow by blow' explanation of the processes and techniques involved, and, together with your photographs or films, could be the subject of a short school presentation or essay.
This would suit children aged 8 to 12 and interested teenagers, all accompanied by at least one responsible adult. The session is about one hour long, and tea, coffee and fruit juices will be available. We charge £35 per group of up to six people.
Demonstration/teaching at our workshop for groups of up to 6 adults
This session, which normally runs from 9.30am to 5.00pm, would suit various groups or societies, including history and archaeology societies, museum staff, or simply a group of people who would like to learn about glass and glassblowing, and provides a ‘hands-on’ opportunity to experience hot glass. As well as an introduction to the studio and the furnaces, the glassworking tools and equipment, glass properties and compositions, and demonstrations, each student will receive a glassblowing lesson, the duration of which will be dictated by the number in the group, but would be about 45 minutes – enough time to blow a small, simple ‘beaker’. Vessels made may be collected at a later date or can be posted. In order to link modern glassworking to ancient glassworking, we can provide a small display of our Roman Furnace Project material, and, weather permitting, give a tour of the wood-fired furnaces. They can also be studied as an exercise in evaluating the products and remains of an experimental archaeology project and comparing them with excavated examples. 
We charge £210 per day, for a group of up to 6 adults (equates to £35 each for a group of 6 people). We accept visits at weekends as well as during the week. There is ample parking space at Project Workshops. We recommend bringing snacks, but tea, coffee and a simple lunch (baked potatoes, cheese and salad) will be provided. Currently, we are only able to offer free-blowing and mould-blowing demonstrations and free-blowing lessons, but we hope to add other glassforming techniques in the future. Groups with a long way to travel may want to consider an overnight stay near our workshop on the day before the demonstration. Take a look at this page for a short list of places to stay. |
Demonstration/teaching at our workshop for college, undergraduate and postgraduate groups of up to 6 students
This session, which normally runs from 9.30am to 5.00pm, is aimed at university and college students studying ancient history, archaeology, the technology and techniques of glassmaking, and glassworking in the ancient world; as well as art students interested in working with hot glass. It provides a ‘hands-on’ opportunity to experience hot glass. As well as an introduction to the studio and the furnaces, the glassworking tools and equipment, glass properties and compositions, and demonstrations, each student will receive a glassblowing lesson, the duration of which will be dictated by the number of students, but would be about 45 minutes – enough time to blow a small, simple ‘beaker’. Vessels made by students may be collected at a later date or can be posted to the university or college department. In order to link modern glassworking to ancient glassworking, we can provide a small display of our Roman Furnace Project material, and, weather permitting, give a tour of the wood-fired furnaces. They can also be studied as an exercise in evaluating the products and remains of an experimental archaeology project and comparing them with excavated examples. We charge £210 per day, for a group of up to 6 students (together with a tutor) (equates to £35 each for a group of 6 people). We accept visits at weekends as well as during the week. There is ample parking space at Project Workshops. We recommend bringing snacks, but tea, coffee and a simple lunch (baked potatoes, cheese and salad) will be provided. Currently, we are only able to offer free-blowing and mould-blowing demonstrations and free-blowing lessons, but we hope to add other glassforming techniques in the future. Groups with a long way to travel may want to consider an overnight stay near our workshop on the day before the demonstration. Take a look at this page for a short list of places to stay. |
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