Last Saturday, we had the pleasure of making our own glass paperweights at The Works in Newark, Ohio.  The glass artists instructed us thoroughly and made us feel comfortable through the whole process.  I was a little nervous beforehand, but the manager walked and talked us through everything like introducing the fire and the tools before we actually jumped into making our very own one of a kind glass paperweights.

In working with the hot glass, the artist needs to keep the hot glass slowly spinning while carrying it and while placing it in the fire to heat.  Wooden and metal shaping tools shape the warm glass and we add our pick of colors.  We choose to add bubbles to each of our paperweights; using a metal tool accomplishes this.  Bee’s wax keeps the metal from sticking to the glass.  We hope to make more glass art in the future.  We highly recommend this fun and creative learning experience!