11 - Students exhibition at the Red House Glass Cone

Archived news release from 2007

Students from the Christopher Whitehead Language College, Worcester are showing their creations in the Courtyard Gallery, an area dedicated to showing work by local school pupils and West Midlands artists working with glass.

The pieces are masks, inspired by a visit to the Pitt Rivers Museum in Oxford. After viewing authentic tribal masks the students then created their own interpretation of these pieces.

The masks have been made using the pate de verre technique which literally means ‘paste of glass’. Clay moulds are filled with crushed glass and a bonding agent, they are then fired to melt the glass and fill the shape. This allows for detailed design and interesting colours as plain or mixed glass can be used, fusing colours together. 

The project was funded through a creative partnerships grant, with the students being led by glass artist George Jackson at the school. The museums service is applying for funding to work on a similar project with year eight pupils.