MATTER

 Cutting glass...amazing!

 I'm shaping what will be the bottom of my glass with a cherry paddle.

 Here are two of my completed glasses.

When there is too much glass on the rod, you can get rid of it by scraping it on a metal plate.  You can also cut it...cool. 

 This is my favorite tool in the studio.  4 pieces of wet newspaper.  It's used to shape the outside of your piece.  

As part of the MATTER unit, The Ann Arbor Hands On Museum will visit on Friday, March 27^th.  Kids will get a chance to participate in experiments that will reinforce the concepts we have been learning in class.  I showed them a video about glass blowing (I just finished a 4-week class in Ypsilanti and have brought my pieces to show them) and it’s a wonderful way to see and question the states of matter.  Glass is amazing and I am constantly in awe of what we are able to do in the studio.  Can you cut glass?  As it turns out, yes, yes you can!  Of course, it must be heated up to do so, but that doesn’t take away from how amazing it is.  My favorite tool in the shop is four pieces of newspaper.  We use it to shape our pieces.  Four pieces of wet newspaper shapes 1700 degree glass.  It's super cool, er, hot.