Destination Classes...

 

June 2008 Destination Class in Istanbul, Turkey at the Glass Furnace...one of the most equipped & modern Glass Schools I have ever seen, from the many different glass studios to the lovely grounds & the dorms, not to mention the food that is included in your class fee...The class was awesome, made tons of friends, click here to see photos & story of the 2 weeks of fun...

 

I will consider teaching one of one, one or two day classes in my new smaller studio in Oxford England, if you wish to take a 2 week class with me, I will have more of them at the Glass Furnace in Turkey...

Here are some pictures of the studio & the students in my classes. Minor Bench Burners are available for each student.  We have lots of fun every time...check out the photos below....

click on photos to enlarge

August 10th 2007, One of the best classes I have had in some time,  the students Jenny & Megan, a mother daughter team did so well & we had a great time...they have been playing with beads for ever, so they have finally decided to take the next step and make their own glass beads...we will hear from them in the very near future when they set up their own studio & start selling their yummy beads...click here to see photos of beads we made in class & below is a picture of us all, melting away in the heat at the torch...


June 10th, 2007. I had a lovely couple Laurie & Goss for class on this day, we had a ton of fun, and they both both did really well, there is nothing worse that having one half of a team do better than the other, the conversation home may not be fun...anyway if I were you I would keep an eye on these two...below is there photo and click here to see the beads we made in class...


April 29th, 2007 I had a new student in class called Gill, she was fun to hang out with & teach...she is very smart and a very good student, she got it all...she is coming back for more, so I will take a photo of her and her beads and will post them here soon...
 

April 2007...These past few months after my dad was sick & during the treatments and since he has been cancer free, I stopped my class schedule for a bit...however I have had several classes with my friend & student Molly, she has gotten so good, I am starting to look at her beads and say wow...I have a few pictures of her at the torch and will try and get her to sit down with a collection of her beads, so I can take a photo & let you guys see what she is up to now...

Aug 20, 2006, Had a really nice class with 3 of the nicest people ever, they were very enthusiastic & like kids at Christmas had lots of questions & could not wait to open their presents. It was a very fun day & we had some good laughs both in class and after at dinner, all 3 will end up making beads better than me very soon & hopefully will teach me new designs as well...below is a picture of them, Cheryl is on the left, Esther in the middle & Tina on the right, and to see photos of our beads from the class click here...

July 11, 2006, we were out of town for about 3 weeks on a road trip, I met Julie my student from this day on the internet, I told her I would be in her neck of the woods, which is Billings Montana and would she like to take a class? she did & that's how I got to torch in the middle of my vacation & meet one of the nicest kindest most talented glass artists ever...the girl did not need a class from me...she is so good already on her own...and she is fun & her husband is also a sweetheart & they were so kind to us, they even fed us...I did not want to leave, I mean where else was I going to find a Lynx torch, great ventilation, an awesome work area with a nice kiln & the great company to play with glass...but the class was over and live had to move on, we made good friends and I hope to hang with Julie again soon... oh yeah she also has her own silver company, www.Silversagecreations.com with great silver & prices...here she is below in her studio...and click here to see the beads we made and then she made after I left, I am telling you the girl is good...


June 22, 2006, Donna & Carol took a class with me on this day...Donna had taken a class from me in Feb of 2005 back when I was still teaching in Santa Cruz, she & Carol & I had loads of fun in class, both of them are silk artists, so they know color, movement in art real well & did real well in class too, I do have some photos of their beads but again am not able to get at them right now...but here is a photo of the 3 of us in the sweltering heat, we did have a fan, a vent over head, an open door & a swamp cooler, so we survived...


June 16, 2006, Garnet a fun student & now friend who took a class from me in Feb 2006, came back for a refresher class, we had fun in that one, I do have photos of her beads, somewhere, I will add them later...

May12, 2006...on this Friday I had a couple great ladies as students in my class, we had fun talking about beads & glass...Barbara & Noel were both very good students...& will do well in the art of glass, more importantly, we are going to have some fun hanging out & going to chick flicks & such...Click here to see our beads from that day...Noel is on the left & Barbara is on the right...thanks for a fun day girl...



May 4, 2006, I had a really nice student named Kathy from Hawaii. She knew she would be visiting family, so she sent emails & we set up a class weeks ago, she brought me some great Coconut Coffee & she was a delight to have in class. Kathy had taken a class once before, with not much luck in learning how to make round beads & encasing she said, take a look at her beads photo by clicking here, she could have fooled me...the girl has some serious glass addiction issues & I see great things in her glass art future, perhaps one day I will take a class from her...below is a photo of us the next day after class when she came by to pick up her beads...


March 12, 2006, I had 2 lovely students on this day, they were much too fun to hang out with & they are both addicted to glass now, I think I have done my job well...click here to see photos of their beads & mine, below is a photo of all 3 of us, Charlanne is on the right, I am in the middle & Judy B. is on the left...she did have glasses on, she took them off just for the photo...

February 26 2006 I had a very nice class with Misty, she drove all the way from Santa Cruz & was a blast to have in class...click here to see her beads & mine from class day...she will be making lots of fun beads soon in her own space very soon...below is her photo, she took the glasses off just for the photo, as you know one has to wear safety Didium glasses at all times at the torch



February 23 2006 class was with Garnet, another fun lady to have in class, she is a great Marble Sculpture as well & now I think she is addicted to glass...we had lots of fun...click here to see her beads & mine from our class...here is photo of her when she came by for her beads the next day, as I forgot to take photos on class day...Garnet is getting all geared up to make tons of fun beads, fusing & some silver clay in her own space soon...


February 13 2006 class was really fun, my student Ellen drove all the way out from the Lake Tahoe area, she is a gold & silversmith artist herself, so I am hoping to have come out & teach us some goodies...send me an email if you like to take a silversmith class with Ellen...here are some photos of Ellen's beads & the ones I made in class which the student gets... Ellen was much fun to have in class...below is her photo making one of her big beads...

 

January 21 & 22nd I had my 3rd class for this month & the new year with one of the most delightful people I have ever met, not only Dasha is a sweet, lovely, smart & fun person to be around, she is also one of the most natural bead makers I have ever met...she is awesome, Click here to see her beads...love her...



January 17 2006, In Las Vegas with hubby, I decided to teach a class to my long time client & friend Janette...we did this last year too & had loads of fun...Janette is making more & more beads everyday I hope, I hope...she was so sweet, she picked me up, fed me breakfast & lunch, gave me the coolest purse which I have to photograph still...and in between all the fun we made some beads Click here to see them...below is a photo of me being a task master as I am sometimes in class...



January 2006, the first class of this year was a one student class with Carmella & her mom Sara rented torch time while we had fun making beads...we had tons of fun, Carmella did rather well...she knew lot of the lingo from hearing her mom talk about beads so it went pretty fast...click here to see a photo of her bead...and below is a picture of her & her mom...




December 2005, this past weekend, on Sunday Dec 11th, I had a one day class with 2 lovely students. Mim & Judy who are glass artists already in the Fusing part of glass, took my one day intro to bead making class. we had loads of fun, click here to see photos of the beads and below is a picture of all of us after a long day of torching...can you tell we are tired...



November  2005, this past Thursday on the 3rd of Nov. Joann who's photo you can see below in Aug. 2005 class photo, stopped by the studio for a one day refresher & color theory class, we had tons of fun...below is the photo of some of the beads we made...I was having fun with the amethyst hollow bead, my first one in a long time, I really need to make more of them, they are so gorgeous...the 2 beads on the left are Joann's and the transparent green one is her first attempt at a hollow beads...she is a great student...




October 2005 class was the first one I held at the new location which is Hobby World in Gilroy, I purchased my own torches, all Nortel Minor burners & brought my own kiln to class. My first student & only for this new class was Cindy A. the person on the right of the photo below, she was so sweet & very talented. Cindy had taken a 4 hour intro class at BAGI (Bay Area Glass Institute) from no other than Andrew, whom by the way was a student of mine in late 2003...its a small world after all...the other tall person in the photo below is my friend Laura who used to work at Santa Cruz Art Glass, she came over to take my class & have some torch time...so the 3 of us made a bunch of beads & had a lot of fun over the weekend...Cindy did really well from the get go, she listened better than most students & was so talented that you would never believer she is has made less than a handful of beads when you look at her beads, click here to see what I mean, however I did not have my camera with me on Sunday so the photos are not as clear as I would have liked them to be, I will ask her to bring her beads over on Friday when she is going to come over to the house & play on the torch some more, so I can retake the photos...everyone but me is so tall...oh yeah Cindy had another shirt on when torching...



September 2005 Class was a private class for one person held at my home studio...Penny W. of Oregon, the sweetest person you would want to meet, drove all the way down for my class...she stayed at our house in our guest room for the weekend. We had the best time both in class & when we went out to the Taste of Morgan Hill & the dinner at our favorite Italian place...Penny did really well in class, she has no issues with the flame, she quickly learned lots of hard things like making round beads on her very first day on the torch ever...she was just a delight...we had all of our meals together over the weekend, & on Monday morning I missed her at breakfast...one the most fun classes I have ever offered that is why I will offer my house for the weekend again. I think it will work if all students are as nice and cool & smart as Penny...click here to see photos of her beads & some of mine for the weekend...also below is a picture of us at the torch...


 

August 2005 class was much fun, I am not sure what that look is I have in the photo but its for hubby...he was being funny when he came by at the end of the class to take the photo...anyway the cute girl in the back is Whitney, who at almost 13 years old is one of my youngest & coolest students, she was also in the July class...& the cute lady standing to my left is Joann, she is also very cool & a great student, she had been working on her own with glass before this class...we had tons of fun, we all learned good things...I do not have photos of the beads sadly, however I can tell you that both Whitney & Joann, made lovely beads...thanks ladies...


Whitney in the back on the torch, Joann on the left & me with the funny look for hubby...

 

July 2005 class had one lucky student, well we have to ask KC how lucky she felt having to get all my attention...KC was just a delight...we had lots of fun in class, she is going to take some photos of her beads and send them to me for the site as I did not get a chance to it...it was a bit in the studio but it was really fun, I learned a lot more about my art, KC even started me thinking about Evil Purple again, so for this week's specials I made some beads in the purples...on the second day Laura (she is the one on the right, the tall one), who works her little tail off at the studio asked if I would add her daughter the very cool & also tall, only 12 years old, but very tall Whitney to the class...she had some past experience so that was good...we all had a real good time playing with fire & glass...oh if you like to see what KC does for her day job check out this cool link...www.kaleidoscope-designs.com

from the left, Whitney, KC, Me & did I mention, the very tall Laura...

June 23rd 2005 I had a private 6 hour class scheduled at 10am, so I got up early got all my work tools together & drove to Santa Cruz, we now live 45 minutes away...I got there at 9:30, plenty of time to set up for my class...by 10:30 my student had not shown up, so I called her cell #, sometimes students from out of town wake up late for class...a lovely voice answered...it was Sonna, my student, she thought the class was on Friday the 24th, so she was still in Los Angles at 10:30 am which is over 300 miles away...Sonna came from Indiana to take a bunch of glass classes in California & also visit some family in Los Angels...well we decided if she jumped in her car & drove up the 5.5 hour to Santa Cruz, I would still be able to teach her the class on Thursday...I was leaving for Tahoe on Friday for the weekend & she was leaving California after the weekend, so that was the only solution...While I waited for the sweet Sonna, I worked on some beads with Laura at the shop, Laura got a free class & we had loads of fun...also while there, Skye from Glass by Skye, who is a total doll came by the studio to get some supplies, so we hung out for a bit, chatted & loved on one another, she is the best, not only as an artist, she is also a great person & very nice & sweet...we decided we would get together soon for a torch session...so I waited all day for Sonna...once she arrived we had some food & then we had a great class that went in to the late hours of the night...I do not have her bead photos since the class was for one day, however Sonna an art teacher & an awesome artist in her own right gifted me with one of her gorgeous framed pieces of collage art, click her for photo...I made her a gorgeous fish & she came back on Friday while I was gone & practiced her new art form which she took to very well...below is a photo of Skye & I & then a photo of Sonna & I...
Click here to see a photo of Sonna's Art...
 

Skye & me...June 2005


Sonna & me...can you tell it is now hours later than the first photo...?We had lots of fun however & I got to meet a great artist, so it was all
well worth it...

Regular June 2005 class was canceled since we were moving that weekend

The May 2005 Class was a beginning class that was full of fun & surprises...in the photo, you see me on the left, next to me is Charmaine, who is a high school art teacher & an artist & very feisty, talk about pressure when I find this out, then next to her is her daughter Celest, who is also a teacher for grade school & a jewelry artist who knows my work well, then we have Kirby, who is a well known Porcelain doll artist who is also a Lampwork bead connoisseur...I find out all of this info, in the start of the class, where I have everyone say who they are, what they do & how come they want to make beads...this information helps me to get to know the class better...I think teaching teachers & artists is a hard job...but I did real well & so did the class, they were all so good, CLICK here to see their beads & see what I mean...


The April 2005 class was loads of fun, of the 5 people attending I knew everyone, 4 of them had been in my classes before, & Carrie and I met in Sharon Peters class last year...Below you will find a photo of Linda on the left, me in the middle & Patti on the right...Patti & Linda had to leave early on the second day, since Linda was really sick & they had to drive a few hours to get back home...so the photo taking thing was a bit off, you see photos of Sara & Nancy from the last classes they took by going down this page of photos...& I am sorry to say I do not have a photo of Carrie this time...the cool thing is I have photos of everyone's beads for the first day, CLICK here to see them...



On Monday March 7th 2005 I had a private class with Kathy, she is from Arizona, I like to say she came just for my class, but not really she was here also to visit her dad & go up to Napa with her hubby...she was a great student & was very much addicted to glass beads by the time class ended...we had loads of fun...



Feb 26 & 27, 2005 class...I had to use this photo, everyone but me looked good in it...I am not sure what I am doing with my mouth, but this class seemed to be all about jokes & fun. From the left we have Nancy in black, she had taken my class once before about one & a half years ago, no before photos of her, back then I never took photos of class, she is a Jewelry designer, you can see one of her gorgeous creations on Nanette Young-Grieiner 's site, check the second item under the Designer's Gallery section, after her we have Linda who is an awesome Silk painting artist, then me, then Linda & then Patti, both of whom are great teachers at a community college in Central California & very fast learners, not to mention fun to hang out with... Most everyone is coming back at the end of April for the Advanced Class...

Jan 22 & 23, 2005 Advanced Class...well all the people from the Dec class came, I call them the usual suspects now, since then 3 of us have gotten together a few times & made some beads...we also had a 5th person in class that day, Lara, if you have called Santa Cruz Art Glass, she may have been the one who answered the phone, she also does most of the ordering, inventory, general set up for classes, general clean up after class...lets just say the girl works hard & in return instead of a paycheck she hangs with glass people all day long, some days she does lampworking, some days she does glass blowing...anyway that was the makeup for the Jan 2005 Advanced Class...oh yeah I forgot to take photos of this class, you can see all of us but Lara in the photo for the Dec 2004 class...


Dec 2004 Class...We had too much fun in this class, we have all emailed each other already this week. I think we will have lunch soon, I know we will get together for more bead making for sure...from the left, Julia, who did not want to be photographed so, I picked this photo where you can mostly see her mischievous smile, she was so much fun & kept me on my toes to whole time, then me, I am making a fish, as Ken the studio owner is asking me in the background, this is a beginning class, why are you doing a fish demo? Then there is Sara, she was so much fun to have in class, and really the most calm of all of us...then there is Sherry, whom I think I used to dance with at a club in the 80s...Sherry I must say made some of the best beads I have seen for a beginner and was loads of fun in class too.


Sept. & Oct. 2004 Classes were private classes for one student each class, and the folks did not want their photo on the site. The Nov. 2004 class was cancelled as my mom was having surgery & I was too busy.

August 2004 class, Laura, me & Cecelie, I think that is how you spell Cecelie...anyway it was a great class...lots of fun was had by all. This was the best picture I could find, I have my eyes closed in the other ones, since I could not stop laughing about something, this is my face trying to be serious.


July 2004 class photos of Caroline & Lilian have been lost by me...I am sorry I lost them girls. I have to say it was a great class, we had tons of fun.

June 2004 Class, Jamie, me & Lisa, we had so much fun



May 2004 Class, Sandy, Bob, me & Lisa...


April 2004 Class, Lorna, Michael, CC & me....