Glassblowing Course FAQs

Terms and Conditions and Frequently Asked Questions about our glassblowing courses

Location All courses are taught at Adam’s spacious and light studio in West Horsley, Surrey. West Horsley is about 10 minutes east of Guildford and less than an hour by car or train from London.

Directions https://adamaaronson.com/finding-us-adam-aaronson-glass-studio/

Experience Our courses are great fun and introduce beginners to the wonders of hot glass. No experience is necessary as you will be guided every step of the way.

Age The course is aimed at adults and children over the age of 9 years. Children aged between 9 and 18 must be accompanied by an adult. There is no upper age limit. So far the oldest person on one of our courses has been a 92 year old!

Number of participants:

The tumbler course is usually limited to 9 participants per session.

The paperweight course is usually limited to 12 participants per session.

The heart course is usually limited to 12 participants per session.

The bauble course is usually limited to 15 participants per session.

The half day introduction to glassblowing course is usually limited to 6 participants per session.

But with all courses there may sometimes be more or fewer students. Adam and his assistants will give you plenty of individual attention, ensuring impressive results for first timers!

Course content

During the course you will be introduced to techniques such as:

– Gathering molten glass from a furnace,
– Shaping and blowing or sculpting the glass,
– Working with glass colours,

You will be able to choose your colours and by the end of the session you will have made a lovely glass piece, which will be yours to keep and treasure!

Duration/Arrival Time

Each taster class is approximately 90 mins long and the half day course is 3 hours long.

We recommend arriving about 10-15 minutes earlier than your start time, so that you have time so see examples of whaat you can make and choose your colours.

See our online calendars for available dates and times https://adamaaronson.com/courses-landing-page/

What to wear Please dress appropriately for a workshop environment. We recommend sturdy flat enclosed shoes (trainers are ideal), jeans or long trousers and a long-sleeved T-shirt or shirt. Natural fibres are best for a hot environment. Please tie back long hair and remove jewellery that might get caught on equipment. (If the weather is cold, do also bring warm layers as the studio is draughty.) You may also wish to bring a drink with you.

Materials Courses are inclusive of all basic materials and safety equipment. All items produced on the course by students are theirs to keep.

Collection As hot glass needs to be annealed overnight to cool down gradually, and then we may need to do some cold work to finish your work, so it will not be available to take away with you on the day. Usually your pieces will be available for collection a week after your course and you will be informed on the day when it will be ready.

You can either arrange to return to collect your piece, or we can pack and post it to you for £20 P&P https://adamaaronson.com/glass/delivery-of-student-work-from-course/

Terms and Conditions

Enrolment: Places on a course are only secured on receipt of full payment, with booking via our online calendar.

Confirmation: You will receive an email confirmation of your online booking. Pre-course/event information will usually be sent by email in advance including information on anything that you may need to bring. Contact us at studio@adamaaronson.com if you have any questions.

Cancellations: For cancellations made four weeks or more in advance of the course date, we offer a 70% refund or one free date change. For cancellations made between two and four weeks in advance of the date, we offer a 50% refund or one date change with a £20 administration fee. If we receive less than two weeks’ notice, we are unable to offer a refund or date change. If a date change has been requested and confirmed, we cannot offer any further refunds or date changes on a subsequent cancellation for the same booking.

Safety Briefing: All courses begin with a detailed safety briefing and all students are asked to sign a form confirming they have listened to, and understood, the briefing.

Postponement: Adam Aaronson Glass Studio reserves the right to postpone, or cancel the date of courses should it become necessary and for whatever reason. Students will be notified as soon as possible and alternative dates will be arranged or a full refund given.

Course Admission: Adam Aaronson Glass Studio reserves the right to refuse to admit any person who in our opinion is not in a condition to safely undertake the course. We also reserve the right to terminate a course, or exclude an individual, for any improper or unacceptable behaviour. Should this be the case, no fees will be refunded.

Photography: We reserve the right to use on our website, or for publicity purposes, any photographs we might take during a course, including those of course participants. Students may take photographs during the course where safety permits.

Send us a message, call 01483 375035 or email for further information.

 

 

Adam Aaronson Summer Exhibitions July – September 2021

Adam Aaronson Summer Exhibitions

July -September 2021

 

Cloudscape 3 - Glass sculpture by Adam Aaronson

Cloudscape 3 – Glass sculpture by Adam Aaronson

Here are details of my exhibitions this summer.

Most of these exhibitions are group shows where a number of artists working in different media are participating. I hope to see you at one or more of them. In the meantime, if you haven’t had a look at my website recently have a look in my new shop https://adamaaronson.com/shop/
It goes without saying that all the venues have taken steps to be Covid compliant. There is always a risk that dates may have to be re-arranged should the Government introduce new restrictions, so it is probably worth checking with me or with the venues in advance closer to the time.

Adam Aaronson Glass Sculpture Trail at Birtley House

Adam Aaronson Glass Sculpture Trail at Birtley House – Garden Sculpture
https://www.birtleyhouse.co.uk/
Birtley House, Bramley, Guildford, Surrey GU5 0LB
A solo exhibition featuring sixty five of my outdoor sculptures.

You can visit any day between 10am and 4pm by ringing 01483 899500, but you don’t need to book a slot

The images show one of the new “Sparkle” series by the lake, with two of the “Flight” series in the background and below “King” and “Queen”

Tall Grey Sparkle - Glass sculpture by Adam Aaronson

Tall Grey Sparkle – Glass sculpture by Adam Aaronson

King - Glass sculpture by Adam Aaronson

King – Glass sculpture by Adam Aaronson

Queen - Glass sculpture by Adam Aaronson

Queen – Glass sculpture by Adam Aaronson

APPART 10 July to 25th July

https://www.appartonline.co.uk/
Prior’s Field, Priorsfield Road, Godalming, Surrey,GU7 2RH
I have participated in this outstanding annual exhibition every year since its inception in 2016. I will be exhibiting both indoor and outdoor work.

Art and Sculpture in the Vineyard 17th July – 31 July

http://www.highclandon.co.uk/ High Clandon Vineyard, East Clandon, Surrey, GU4 7RP
This is a major event in my calendar since it celebrates the launch of the latest High Clandon Cuvee! I will have work indoors and outdoors.

Art and Sculptures in the Vineyard High Clandon Flyer

Art and Sculptures in the Vineyard High Clandon Flyer

 

Excellence 3rd to 15th August

The Society of Designer Craftsmen at the Oxmarket Gallery.
https://societyofdesignercraftsmen.org.uk/events/excellence

I was delighted to be selected for this juried show.

Adam Aaronson Sanctuary Sculpture

Adam Aaronson Sanctuary Sculpture

Bright Horizons 17th August to 5th September

Bright Horizons 17th August – 5th September
Oxmarket Gallery, Chichester, West Sussex, PO19 1YH
This will be an exciting group show curated by myself and featuring a number of my friends.
Paintings by Fiona Millais, Tinx Newton, Nic Cowper, Hugh Fairfax, Alistair Erskine.
Monoprints by Tessa Pearson
Textile Art by Naomi Beevers
Ceramics by Ali Tomlin, Kayley Holderness
Boxes and furniture by Kevin Stamper

The work I will be showing will be very different to the work shown at the SDC Excellence show.

Adam Aaronson Handblown Glass Bowl Pagham Sky

Adam Aaronson Handblown Glass Bowl Pagham Sky

 

In My Mind’s Eye September 4th to 12th

An exhibition of abstract paintings and glass sculpture from
Liz Hauck, Adam Aaronson and the Wildwood Artists. High Clandon Vineyard, East Clandon, Surrey, GU4 7RP Following the success of The Shape of Colour Exhibition at Wildwood in 2018, Adam and Liz are delighted to have the opportunity to exhibit together again together with the Wildwood Artists. Don’t miss this super exhibition!

In my Mind's Eye Flyer

In my Mind’s Eye Flyer

Supporting Laurie Todd Foundation

I am supporting the Laurie Todd Foundation which was set up by my friend Maundy Todd to fund Oesophagal cancer research for Kingston Hospital Charity, “because Early Diagnosis will save lives”.

Mixed pods by Adam Aaronson

Mixed pods by Adam Aaronson

Laurie was, sadly, the second person I knew who died from Oesophageal Cancer. My “brother-in-law” Peter Baker had also been diagnosed with this a few years earlier. Both Laurie and Peter were diagnosed too late for successful treatment and one of the key objectives of the Laurie Todd Foundation is to improve early diagnosis of Oesophageal Cancer. We lost them both far too young.

The other three objectives are to

  1. Raise funds for essential research into Oesophageal Cancer

  2. Raise awareness – through GP training and public communication programme

  3. Develop an eventual screening programme.

    Sculpture Garden Flyer

    Sculpture Garden Flyer

    Maundy is opening her beautiful garden to the public on the afternoon of 24th June and I will have some sculpture on show there. A percentage of all sales on the day will go to the Laurie Todd Foundation so do come along and make a purchase. Click on the flyer below to see the details of the event.

    Alternatively, if you would like to make a donation you can do so here:

    https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/laurietoddfoundation

    Sculpture Garden Flyer p2

    Sculpture Garden Flyer p2

    Spirit of Summer - Glass sculpture by Adam Aaronson

    Spirit of Summer – Glass sculpture by Adam Aaronson

Adam Aaronson 2021 Summer Exhibition List

Adam Aaronson 2021 Summer Exhibition List

Cloudscape 3 - Glass sculpture by Adam Aaronson

Cloudscape 3 – Glass sculpture by Adam Aaronson

Here are details of my exhibitions this summer.

Most of these exhibitions are group shows where a number of artists working in different media are participating. I hope to see you at one or more of them. In the meantime, if you haven’t had a look at my website recently have a look in my new shop https://adamaaronson.com/shop/
It goes without saying that all the venues have taken steps to be Covid compliant. There is always a risk that dates may have to be re-arranged should the Government introduce new restrictions, so it is probably worth checking with me or with the venues in advance closer to the time.

Delamore Art 2021 17 May to 20 June

Delamore Estate, Cornwood, Ivybridge, Devon, PL21 9QT
https://www.delamore-art.co.uk/
As you enter the estate you will see my Boundaries Sculpture which is a permanent installation.

Adam Aaronson Boundaries Sculpture installed at the entrance to Delamore House

Adam Aaronson Boundaries Sculpture installed at the entrance to Delamore House

I have several sculptures in the grounds this year.

StART at the Oxmarket Gallery May 25th -13th June

https://oxmarket.com/start/
An  exhibition to celebrate the re-opening of the refurbished Oxmarket Gallery. I was delighted to be invited to participate and the curator selected these three “Lightscapes” to exhibit in this show.
St Andrew’s Court, Chichester, West Sussex, PO19 1YH

Adam Aaronson Glass Sculpture Trail at Birtley House

Adam Aaronson Glass Sculpture Trail at Birtley House – Garden Sculpture
https://www.birtleyhouse.co.uk/
Birtley House, Bramley, Guildford, Surrey GU5 0LB
A solo exhibition featuring sixty five of my outdoor sculptures.
The images show one of the new “Sparkle” series by the lake, with two of the “Flight” series in the background and below “King” and “Queen”

Tall Grey Sparkle - Glass sculpture by Adam Aaronson

Tall Grey Sparkle – Glass sculpture by Adam Aaronson

King - Glass sculpture by Adam Aaronson

King – Glass sculpture by Adam Aaronson

Queen - Glass sculpture by Adam Aaronson

Queen – Glass sculpture by Adam Aaronson

ART and SOUL 5th June to 20th June (weekends)

https://www.theartfulgallery.co.uk/art-soul-2021
Surrey Artists Open Studios exhibition at the Artful Gallery, Whitehanger, Haslemere
A wonderful exhibition in the grounds of sculptor David Paynter’s house.
You can see the Cloudscape sculpture shown at the top of this post at Whitehanger as well as this Cloud.

Adam Aaronson Hand Blown Glass Cloud sculpture

Adam Aaronson Hand Blown Glass Cloud sculpture

APPART 10 July to 25th July

https://www.appartonline.co.uk/
Prior’s Field, Priorsfield Road, Godalming, Surrey,GU7 2RH
I have participated in this outstanding annual exhibition every year since its inception in 2016. I will be exhibiting both indoor and outdoor work.

Art and Sculpture in the Vineyard 17th July – 31 July

http://www.highclandon.co.uk/ High Clandon Vineyard, East Clandon, Surrey, GU4 7RP
This is a major event in my calendar since it celebrates the launch of the latest High Clandon Cuvee! I will have work indoors and outdoors.

Art and Sculptures in the Vineyard High Clandon Flyer

Art and Sculptures in the Vineyard High Clandon Flyer

 

Excellence 3rd to 15th August

The Society of Designer Craftsmen at the Oxmarket Gallery.
https://societyofdesignercraftsmen.org.uk/events/excellence

I was delighted to be selected for this juried show.

Adam Aaronson Sanctuary Sculpture

Adam Aaronson Sanctuary Sculpture

Bright Horizons 17th August to 5th September

Bright Horizons 17th August – 5th September
Oxmarket Gallery, Chichester, West Sussex, PO19 1YH
This will be an exciting group show curated by myself and featuring a number of my friends.
Paintings by Fiona Millais, Tinx Newton, Nic Cowper, Hugh Fairfax, Alistair Erskine.
Monoprints by Tessa Pearson
Textile Art by Naomi Beevers
Ceramics by Ali Tomlin, Kayley Holderness
Boxes and furniture by Kevin Stamper

The work I will be showing will be very different to the work shown at the SDC Excellence show.

Adam Aaronson Handblown Glass Bowl Pagham Sky

Adam Aaronson Handblown Glass Bowl Pagham Sky

 

In My Mind’s Eye September 4th to 12th

An exhibition of abstract paintings and glass sculpture from
Liz Hauck, Adam Aaronson and the Wildwood Artists. High Clandon Vineyard, East Clandon, Surrey, GU4 7RP Following the success of The Shape of Colour Exhibition at Wildwood in 2018, Adam and Liz are delighted to have the opportunity to exhibit together again together with the Wildwood Artists. Don’t miss this super exhibition!

In my Mind's Eye Flyer

In my Mind’s Eye Flyer

Glassblowing for Children

Glassblowing for Children

Glassblowing is a fabulous experience for young people.

It is great having children in the studio and we generally get very good results with our younger students.

Children aged 9 and upwards, accompanied by an adult, can participate in most of our courses, see below, and you can purchase vouchers for these courses online or book via the calendar.

Blow your own Tumbler, Bowl or Vase
Make a Glass Paperweight
Blow your own Christmas Bauble
Make Your Own Glass Heart for Valentine’s Day

HALF DAY COURSE

However, our half day courses are only available to children under 18 by arrangement.

The main reason is that some couples make arrangements for their kids to be doing other activities at the weekend in order to have some personal time without their kids. As our courses generally have four or five participants, it doesn’t make sense for them to turn up on a course and find other people’s children there!

However, if you are a family group of four or more including under 18s, it is much easier to accommodate you because you’d probably be taking up all the available spaces. It is also possible to cater for a group of four or more children on a half day course, but adults must accompany them.

There are also occasions when it is possible to include an adult and child or two, particularly when we have other repeat students on the same day whom we know are happy to work alongside children. So this  is really a question of getting the right mix of students rather than not being prepared to teach children.

If you are interested in booking for a half day course, it is best to email me with your phone no and I will call to discuss as I talk faster than I type.😀

Covid19 and our Glassblowing Courses

You can now book our courses online through the relevant calendars

If you click here to sign up to the newsletter we will let you know if there are any imminent changes owing to Covid.

As you probably know, for some time we haven’t been able to run our popular glassblowing sessions but this has now changed and we are up and running again.

There are risks associated with Covid19 but we are very careful to mitigatre these as much as possible. One of the features of the course is that it is very “hands on”.

In teaching glassblowing, there is some close contact between the tutor (me) and the student (you), because we are standing side by side for some of the time and handling the same glassblowing iron. This means that the risk was too high previously.

We have now recommenced our courses and dates are gradually being added to the online calendars. I have had both my vaccinations, and that makes it easier to proceed, although we still need to be careful. I have four friends double vaccinated who have recently caught Covid!

If you already have a voucher, it will be extended to be valid for a year from the time we start the courses again, but you may need to choose a date from the calendar and email me to let me know as the website booking system doesn’t always like the updated voucher.

Our prices went up at the beginning of the year, but if you have a course voucher, there is nothing extra to pay, so if the website asks you for an extra payment, please don’t pay and let me know so I can book you in manually.

NB when booking with a voucher, when the website asks for your email address, you need to enter the email address of the purchaser, as this is a safety feature.

Please sign up to our mailing list to be notified of future updates about courses and exhibitions.

https://adamaaronson.com/newsletter-sign-up/

Here are the links to the calendars:

Half day course: https://adamaaronson.com/glass/course-calendar/

Make a bauble; https://adamaaronson.com/glass/blow-your-own-christmas-bauble-calendar/

Make a paperweight: https://adamaaronson.com/glass/make-your-own-glass-paperweight-course/

Make a Tumbler: https://adamaaronson.com/glass/glassblowing-taster-course-2/

More dates are being added every week, so if the dates you are looking for are not available, keep looking or email me to see if I’m about to add that date.

Opening Hours from April 2021

We are happy to announce that our furnaces are now on and we are making glass again. The studio is now open to the public from Monday to Sunday from 10.30am to 4.45pm but closed on Bank holidays and also on Sunday 14th May 2023

Packing Safely

Packing Safely

I always say to my students “If you want to be a glassmaker learn how to pack first” because packing safely is really the key to success.

My Packing History

I have been packing safely on and off for more than 40 years and shipping glass to more than 20 countries. I’ve never counted how many pieces of glass I have packed up. But I just worked out that the total must be more than 100,000! So far, I haven’t had a piece break in transit. That’s because I choose good packing materials and pack carefully. So are you wondering whether it would be safe for me to send your purchase to you? If so, the answer is that with a 100% track record of no breakages I’m not looking to cut any corners! Bubble wrap? No way, that’s entry level! ­­I moved up to Jiffy Foam in 1978 and haven’t looked back. There’s a reason it costs more!

When you pack, the key thing is to remember that the parcel is going to be handed by lots of people. There may be ten or twelve people on the way to its destination. I’d like to think that most of them would like it to arrive safely. But it’s probably fair to say that on occasions, they aren’t all as careful as you would like them to be. So the answer is to pack to a standard that takes this into consideration.

How I learnt to pack

I learnt to pack when I was at the University of Keele in the seventies, studying International Relations. Packing wasn’t a subject on the degree course. But I met a wonderful old lady who had worked in the Potteries all her life. She lived in a 17th Century cottage in Betley, Staffordshire. She used to tell me some fascinating anecdotes about the famous pottery designers, whom she’d known and the factories where she’d worked. I think she must have been born around 1900.

After a long career as a decorator in the potteries, she retired, to her cottage in Betley. When I knew her she must have been almost 80. She used travel by bus into Stoke to buy glazed whiteware from different potteries and carry it back to paint in her cottage. Then she would get on the bus and carry it to a pottery to be fired. So she really knew how to pack and she taught me the basics. I was lucky enough to make friends with her and used to buy her work to sell in my mother’s shop in Highgate. Packing safely was very important to her, and I was lucky to learn how to pack from her.

I do hope that if you had any worries about the safe passage of your purchase, that I have put your mind to rest. Happy browsing!

Christmas Bauble Taster Sessions

Christmas Bauble Taster Sessions 2019

We’re still taking bookings for our popular Christmas Bauble Taster Sessions for 2019. We’ve been organising these “make your own Christmas decoration” sessions for several years now and we’ve found that they’ve always been a great success. So much so, that in fact some people come back year after year and build up their collection of Christmas baubles over a period of time. Indeed,  we’re looking forward to seeing some old friends as well as meeting new ones! Last year around 400 people joined us to blow a bauble each and we already have more than 300 people booked in, and it’s only mid-October!

Each place costs £40 per person and payment is required with booking. Please note that as with all hot glass items, we need to anneal your baubles overnight. So they will usually be available for collection the following day. We can make arrangements  to send your bauble (s) to you. There is a charge of £10 for up to 12 baubles. You can currently book online here for Saturday morning bauble courses in November and December, as well as some Sundays in December. There are some bookable dates on Thursday evenings too.

Please contact Adam for other possible dates and for group bookings. Early evening sessions can also be arranged for groups of 10 or more.

Christmas Bauble Taster Sessions 2017

Christmas Decorations

Hands on

This is an exciting, hands-on workshop. You will make your own blown glass Christmas bauble to keep and treasure or give as a gift. Why not come along with a group of friends and family for a fun-filled pre-Christmas outing?

Of course, if you want to make more than one bauble, you can book more than one space. In reality, there isn’t really a limit, but if you want to make more than 10, we can arrange a special session for you.

Christmas Bauble Taster Sessions 2017

Plenty of colours to choose from.

We have sessions on Saturday mornings, Sunday afternoons and some Saturday afternoons. Also on some Thursday evenings. As some of the sessions have sold out we’ve added some more. You can find the dates and book online here

“Dear Adam and team.Thank you for a wonderful workshop on Saturday we had a great time. Our youngest wants to come back next year to carry on bauble making!!” – family of four.

“Just wanted to say thank you to you and your team. My work friends and I had a really enjoyable time and will be recommending it to my other friends”

Furthermore, after the session you can enjoy browsing our on-site gallery, which is packed with glass art gifts and accessories perfect for Christmas.

Over the years we’ve learnt that some people are confused by the term bauble and prefer to refer to these as Christmas decorations, but we don’t mind what you call them!

If you would like to do more than just a taster session have a look at our Introduction to Glassblowing course, which run most weekends.

In 2016 we made Christmas Decorations for Matches Fashion which looked fantastic. Here is an image of one of our bauble trees!

We can arrange a special session for a group of 10 people. Please contact us for details.

 

Glassblowing during Guildford Heritage Open Days

Glassblowing during Guildford Heritage Open Days

We are going to be glassblowing during Guildford Heritage Open Days this year on Friday 13th, Saturday 14th and Sunday 15th September.

In the mornings we have special Taster Courses

You will need to pre-book online if you would like to do a taster course.
The cost is £50 per person and the times are

Session one 0930 – 1115,

Session two 1130 – 1315.

There are up to 10 people per session and the cost is £50 per person, which includes all materials and the piece you make.
Details and calendar for online booking are here

In the afternoons, Adam will be demonstrating and the times of the glassblowing demonstrations are

Session one 1430-1530, Session two 1600-1700 on each day

You can also find all the details here

https://www.heritageopendays.org.uk/visiting/event/adam-aaronson-glass-studio