Glass Workshops
2022 Workshop Season Update:
Touchstone is again offering a modified workshop season due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Please review our COVID-19 policy* and our cancellation policy* prior to registering for any workshop.
*Subject to change, check back for up-to-date information. Registered participants will be notified of any changes.
Weekend Workshops: AUG 27 through SEPT 26
SEP 17-18 | 2-DAY (SAT-SUN)
Glass Flameworking Weekend
Instructor: Leslie Kaplan
All Levels
$320 Member | $350 Non-Member
$40-$90 Materials and Studio Fees
This workshop is no longer open for enrollment.
Playing with fire has never been so fun (or so safe)! Learn the basics of glass beadmaking with 'soft' glass, which melts readily and comes in a range of fantastic colors. Learn to work with heat and gravity to make your own beads (round, cylinders, flat) and decorate them with dots, twisties, and stripes. Explore making glass headpins. More advanced students can explore using metals, frits and other bells and whistles to create unique tiny works of art.
Leslie Kaplan is a glass flameworker who specializes in making bold, contemporary, and romantic glass jewelry pieces. Her pieces reflect her love of flowers, and most are abstract floral forms. Her work has been shown in juried exhibits in many cities, including Pittsburgh, Kansas City, Louisville, Miami, Corning, Seattle and Osaka, Japan. Leslie is an active member of the Pittsburgh Craftsmans Guild, and was recently juried in as a Master Artisan of the Pennsylvania Guild of Craftsmen.
Website: RushCreekGlass.com
Instagram: @RushCreekGlass
SEP 24-26 | 3-DAY (SAT-MON)
Designing it Wright
Instructor: Isaac Beachy
All Levels
$445 Member | $475 Non-Member
$85-$135 Materials and Studio Fees
Download Materials List
This workshop is no longer open for enrollment.
Draw inspiration from famous American architect Frank Lloyd Wright's iconic prairie style stained glass windows and screens. Study what makes Wright's windows evocative and apply the same principles to design your own original leaded stained glass panel. Learn each of the steps of traditional stained glass lead came construction as you turn your original design into a one-of-a-kind window. Leaded stained glass panels, as opposed to those built using copper foil, can withstand outdoor elements and allow for larger panels to be built for permanent installation. This workshop is a good next step for those already familiar with cutting glass and building stained glass using copper foil.
Isaac Beachy grew up in the Shenandoah Valley in Harrisonburg, Virginia, and has been using glass to create since 2003. After working for a number of stained glass studios in Pittsburgh, PA, he created Isaac's Glass Co. in 2020 to create custom designs and restore or repair existing stained glass windows. Isaac has been taught and teaches at Pittsburgh Glass Center and offers private lessons out of his basement studio.
Website: isaacsglass.com
Instagram: @isaacsglasspgh
Touchstone Center for Crafts prohibits discrimination in employment, educational programs, and activities on the basis of race, national origin, color, creed, religion, sex, age, disability, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity, or association preference. Touchstone Center for Crafts also affirms its commitment to providing equal opportunities and equal access to its facilities and programming.
(724) 329-1370
All workshop participants must be 18 years or older except where indicated.
Workshops are filled on a first-come, first-served basis. Many fill quickly and have wait lists months in advance – don’t wait to register! Registrations for onsite workshops should be made no later than 15 days ahead of the workshop start date so that we can count you when making workshop determinations, ordering materials, etc. Touchstone’s onsite workshop determinations are made 14 days in advance of their scheduled start dates, primarily based on the number of participants registered at that time. Virtual workshop registrations should be made at least 8 days ahead of the session as determinations are made 7 days in advance of the scheduled start time, primarily based on the number of participants registered at that time.
A processing fee of $15 will be added to 1-5 day onsite workshops and community wood firings.
Nonrefundable COVID-19 fees are charged to each participant per onsite workshop: $20/5-day workshop, $15/3-day workshop, and $10/1- & 2-day workshops. These fees help to offset the additional and increased expenses to Touchstone for cleaning, sanitizing, PPE, disposables, and other costs directly related to ensuring health and safety for all. This fee is nonrefundable.
To view a full listing of the Terms and Conditions as part of your enrollment, download the 2022 Participant Guide.
Previous Glass Workshops
Weeklong Workshops: JUNE 20 - AUGUST 19
JUN 27-JUL 1 | 5-DAY (MON-FRI)
Introduction to Stained Glass
Instructor: Neile Cooper
No Experience/Beginner
$620 Member | $650 Non-Member
$120-$170 Materials and Studio Fees
This workshop is no longer open for enrollment.
This introductory class will provide a foundation for creating stained glass using the copper foil technique. We will cover the art of glass cutting, grinding, foiling, soldering, and finishing. Day one we'll dive right in with a small suncatcher project to give a quick overview of the process, the tools and materials and safe studio practices. Students will then select from designs provided to create a small window, taking a deeper exploration of the materials and practice of the techniques. By the class end you will know the basics of what is needed to go on and create your own projects.
Neile Cooper is a stained glass artist, author, and instructor based in New Jersey whose work often features fantastical representations of natural imagery and frequently incorporates found objects and non-traditional techniques. She received a 2021 Individual Artist Fellowship from the New Jersey State Council of the Arts. Her first book, Kicking Glass, A Creative Guide to Stained Glass Craft, will be published by Bloomsbury Publishing in May 2022. Neile is best known for her Stained Glass Cabin in the Woods, a small sanctuary clad entirely in re-claimed window frames filled with her stained glass. She also creates windows for both residential and commercial spaces, and sells stained glass objects, jewelry, and patterns.
Instructor website: glasscabinstudio.com
Instagram: @neilecooper
JUL 11-15 | 5-DAY (MON-FRI) | EDUCATORS' RETREAT
Prints and Printability
Instructor: Meredith Edmondson
All Levels
$620 Member | $650 Non-Member
$175-$225 Materials and Studio Fees
This workshop is no longer open for enrollment.
In this workshop, we will be working with the screenprinting process to transfer imagery to glass. We will focus on traditional screenprinting techniques, as well as doing some experimentation using different types of light sources and objects to create unusual images for printing. Students will then learn basic fusing techniques to transform the flat glass into functional works of art!
Meredith Edmondson began working with glass in 2005, having first fallen in love with the material during a chance visit to the Appalachian Center for Craft, from which she later received her BFA in 2009. Edmondson’s work incorporates a variety of techniques, including glass blowing, fusing and slumping, kiln casting, and screenprinting. Central to her work is the extraordinary ability of glass to look like what it is not; each object is as beautiful as it is deceptive, and the illusion is the craft. Currently, Edmondson works out of her studio located in the heart of the Wedgewood Houston Arts District of Nashville, TN. In addition to her glass design work, she maintains a strong studio practice and teaches as often as possible.
Website: meredithedmondson.com
Instagram: @glassgal85
JUL 17-22 | 6-DAY (SUN-FRI) | TEEN WEEK
Marbles and Beads
Instructor: Michael Mangiafico
All Levels (Ages 14-17)
$75 Materials and Studio Fees
Explore the world of creating glass marbles and beads! You will be melting glass on a torch, incorporating fancy twisted canes or patterned bars into magnificent disks and orbs of delight. You will then get to transform said creations into pendants, spinning tops, and fetching sculptures.
Michael Mangiafico is a glass artist and teacher living and working in Pittsburgh, PA. After graduating from Carnage Mellon University in 1985, he has continued his education by attending as well as teaching glass art seminars across the U.S. In 1996, Michael built FiG Studios - Forms in Glass. He designs and creates sculptures and craft items from glass by employing various techniques such as blowing, casting, torch working, and cold working. Michael’s forte is in making glass insects and other small creatures. FiG Studios has work in fine art galleries around the country.
Website: figstudios.com
Instagram: @deedleweed
AUG 1-5 | 5-DAY (MON-FRI) | NATURE WEEK
Flameworking Glass Flora
Instructor: Erin Garmezy
All Levels
$620 Member | $650 Non-Member
$135-$185 Materials and Studio Fees
This workshop is no longer open for enrollment.
Learn how to create botanical works on the torch using borosilicate glass. We will cover basic techniques for sculpting leaves, flowers, vines, and other flora. Throughout the week, you will assemble multiple floral components using glass support techniques, with a focus on strong welds and connections. Open to all levels.
Erin Garmezy became enamored with glass as an artistic medium at age 17, when she made a deal to trade shop work for glass studio lessons. Garmezy studied glassblowing at VCUarts, earning both a BFA in Craft/Material Studies and a BFA in Art Education in 2007. She now works both on the torch and in the hotshop, creating realistic and delicate lifeforms made of glass, and frequently collaborates with her husband Grant Garmezy. She has taught glass workshops at the Chrysler Museum of Art, the Glass Furnace in Turkey, Aya Glass Studio in Japan, and Pilchuck Glass School, among others. Her work was featured on the cover of Glass Art Magazine.
Website: eringarmezy.com
Instagram: @neffel
(724) 329-1370
All workshop participants must be 18 years or older except where indicated.
Workshops are filled on a first-come, first-served basis. Many fill quickly and have wait lists months in advance – don’t wait to register! Registrations for onsite workshops should be made no later than 15 days ahead of the workshop start date so that we can count you when making workshop determinations, ordering materials, etc. Touchstone’s onsite workshop determinations are made 14 days in advance of their scheduled start dates, primarily based on the number of participants registered at that time. Virtual workshop registrations should be made at least 8 days ahead of the session as determinations are made 7 days in advance of the scheduled start time, primarily based on the number of participants registered at that time.
A processing fee of $15 will be added to 1-5 day onsite workshops and community wood firings.
Nonrefundable COVID-19 fees are charged to each participant per onsite workshop: $20/5-day workshop, $15/3-day workshop, and $10/1- & 2-day workshops. These fees help to offset the additional and increased expenses to Touchstone for cleaning, sanitizing, PPE, disposables, and other costs directly related to ensuring health and safety for all. This fee is nonrefundable.
To view a full listing of the Terms and Conditions as part of your enrollment, download the 2022 Participant Guide.