Happy New Year everyone! I, like many of you, scrambled to find that perfect gift for those on my list this past Christmas season. You may recall that I shared my love for experiences in my procrastinator’s guide and guess what? I did just that! When it comes to buying gifts for my mom and the hubs’ mom, we often defer to jewellery and clothes and this year we started going down that same path… winter jacket, house slippers, but then we did a bit of a change. We gave them calendars and picture frames of the Little Monkey and since we had both moms in town at the same time (a rare occurrence) I jumped on a Buytopia deal that sounded very interesting… A glass making class at Playing with Fire.
Needless to say both moms were very excited at the opportunity of doing something crafty and different and off we went for a class on a Saturday morning. Ofcourse being a Murphy, Murphy’s law ensued. We thought we were on the right track having found the location for “playing with fire” on Google Maps, only to arrive at the destination with a dead cell phone and at the wrong address! Apparently google maps directed us to a catering company under the same name (so be aware! The glass making studio is actually on 10 Jackson Ave (a tiny lane by the side of a parking lot) not on Dundas St). As we look back, we laugh at the semi rude fella at the catering company who came out pulling up his pants (I don’t want to know!) after my mom started banging around his kitchen as there was no one on site for 10 minutes! A trip to a Fresh Co. in search of a stranger with a smart phone was a miserable fail. You’d be surprised to know that I had to ask 8 people before I found someone with a smart phone! Helpful as he was, he sent us to the wrong place. Luckily a friendly Enterprise Rent a Car guy directed us to the right place and a customer in line called us a cab. Ah what a random day!
We missed the first half an hour of Minna’s class but we watched a few people ahead of us and quickly picked up some tips and tricks. It can get cold in the studio so dress warm! The heat from the furnace was welcomed but I suppose it can get very hot in there during the summer. We were participating in the introductory glass flower making class and everyone gets a one on one session with Minna and her assistant, which is a great opportunity. Most attendees made it look easy and it was for the first portion but when it came time for the actual pulling and twisting, my hands were hurting! Talk about a workout!
Minna dips the punty rod in the furnace and picks the molten glass and lets you heat the glass in the glory hole. She then brings it to the hot shop ( a fun name for a small area with a bench and some tools) where I sat on a bench and practiced pulling the glass (to form the petals) with the pincetti ( looks like a large tweezer). Once I had a practice session, she cools the glass in the annealer and then recycles the clear glass the following day. Well there you go. I should be a pro by now right? My fingers were hurting after the pulling so I knew I was in trouble when it came to the real product. I went through the same motions with the exception of dipping the raw glass in the colour crystals. I wasn’t a fan of the colours that were on offer that day (believe it or not some of my most hated colours!!) and ended up choosing a green and red combo. There’s various shades of the crystals and as you will see below, our colours for that session were very muted and not the bold, vibrant colours I’m a huge fan of. I made the mistake of choosing way too much green and not enough red, which meant that the finished products looks nearly all green. Both moms on the other hand made a better choice and have better flowers than I. The proof is in the pictures!
The class is about an hour and a half but keep in mind that the first thirty minutes is an introduction to the processes, tools and machines. From then on, it’s one on one sessions so if you’re one of the first few to make your flowers, you could be in and out within the hour but if you’re at the end of the list, you end up watching (and learning from) those before. There is a sense of instant gratification because you get to see the colours and shape take form but you do have to leave it to cool over night to really see the end product.
I haven’t been able to pick the finished flowers just yet, but Minna was nice enough to send me a picture. What do you think? Not the greatest artwork but it was a lot of fun and while we had a pretty crappy and hectic start to the day, it ended well with a glass making session followed by a lovely lunch at Cafe Bernate on Ossington. I think this class would be a great idea for a group outing or if you’re looking to do something new and fun in Toronto.
