Events at the Glass Museum

 

Make an appointment to bring along your glass items for identification by our very own glass experts.  Please note that this service is for identifications only - we cannot give valuations as this is against museums' policy.  The opinion service is free for up to 3 items.  Please see Opinions page for more information.

 

 

 

A four-day international extravaganza with exhibitions, events, lectures and masterclasses taking place thoughout the Stourbridge Glass Quarter and beyond.  The Festival takes place every two years and has become the 'greatest glass gathering' in the country.  Visit http://www.ifg.org.uk/ for more information or to download a programme.

 

Throughout the Festival period, between Tuesday 19 until Monday 25 August, the Glass Museum will have extended opening hours, between 10am - 4pm.  The following events (marked IFG) are hosted by Broadfield House Glass Museum as part of the International Festival of Glass 2008. 

 

Take inspiration from our glass fashion exhibition and design your own unique fashion accessory.  Using fabric paints and bits’n’bobs, budding designers can create their own artwork on a practical drawstring backpack.  All materials will be supplied.  This workshop is suitable for males and females of any age. 

 

Tickets: £2.50 per person, advanced booking not required.  Children under the age of 16 must be accompanied by an adult. 

 

Take part in this special kiln fusing workshop and you can take away your own glass jewellery and coaster.  Led by glass and visual artist Shelagh Swanson, who completed a 3 month residency at the Red House Glass Cone earlier this year, participants will be shown how to design and make their own item of jewellery and a coaster using kiln fusing techniques.  All materials will be provided.  This workshop is suitable for everyone over the age of 6 although children under the age of 16 must be accompanied by an adult. 

 

Tickets: £6 per person, strictly limited, advanced booking required.  Tickets available from Broadfield House Glass Museum.

 

Throughout the afternoon, the Museum’s resident glassmaker, Allister Malcolm who runs AM Glass, will be taking inspiration from The Danger of the Image exhibition and experimenting with glass to create some fantasy fashion items.  Admission to the Hot Glass Studio is free. 

 

Diana Dias-Leão completed a BA (Hons) degree in fashion at the University of Newcastle, followed by several courses in both Jewellery and Glass at Richmond College, before attending the University of Sunderland where she gained her MA in Glass.  In 2005 one of her glass dresses won the coveted student prize awarded by the Worshipful Company of Glass Sellers. 

 

The artist behind the catwalk creations will talk about her experiences of working in the fashion industry and how this has coloured her work, which explores serious issues around identity and beauty mixed with gentle humour.  She will also reveal the technical processes of how these fantastical glass gowns are made.   

 

Tickets: £5 each, strictly limited, advance booking recommended.  Tickets available from Broadfield House Glass Museum.

 

Special glassmaking demonstration by Timothy Harris, master craftsman and Managing Director of Isle of Wight Studio Glass, who continues passionately the Harris tradition as the eldest son of the late Michael Harris.  Timothy will make a selection of pieces from the current Isle of Wight Glass range with the addition of some special one-offs using some of his father's techniques.  The pieces made on the day will be on sale in the Museum from 10.00 am on Monday.  Admission free.

 

Mark Hill is a leading authority on 20th century design and collectables, an expert on the BBC Antiques Roadshow, and the author of “Michael Harris: Mdina Glass and Isle of Wight Studio Glass”, published in 2006.  To coincide with the exhibition currently showing at the Glass Museum, Mark Hill will talk about Michael Harris and his ‘journey in glass’; from studies at Stourbridge College of Art and the Royal College in the 1950s and 60s, to the founding of Mdina Glass in Malta in 1968, followed by the move to the Isle of Wight in 1972.  Mark will describe the principal Mdina and Isle of Wight ranges, focusing in particular on the classic Fish vases, which were produced at both studios, and the naturalistic Undercliff range.  This was one of Isle of Wight studio’s most complex designs and was inspired by the dramatic chalk cliff which forms a backdrop to the studio on the south coast of the island.

 

Tickets: £10 each including wine and canapés following the lecture.  Tickets are strictly limited, advanced booking recommended.  Tickets available from Broadfield House Glass Museum. 

 

Get into the festive spirit early with activities across the Glass Quarter.  There'll be crafts, displays, exhibitions and family friendly activities all with a toyland theme as visitors help Father Christmas prepare for Christmas Eve.  Venues include the Glass Museum, the Red House Glass Cone and the Ruskin Glass Centre.  Charges will apply to some activities.