A pot melt is a patterned slab of glass created by melting a selection of coloured glass through a hole in a crucible (holder) onto the kiln shelf. The process utilises the viscosity of the glass when molten to form patterns.

There is so much room to experiment here. The way in which the glass flows is also influenced by how high the crucible is suspended above the kiln shelf, the way the glass is placed in the crucible, the angle of the shelf it lands on and how the glass will meet any barriers as it lands such as kiln dams or moulds. These are all variables that can be played with to create exciting visual effects in your pot melts and in the design of your pot melt moulds. The possibilities are endless!

This course invites you to conduct your own experiments with confidence by looking at numerous options for kiln set-ups and firings - and importantly, how to make five different designs of pot melt moulds yourself using Silkemat that will give you the versatility to make beautiful one-off pot melt designs over and over again. You will also learn about how to use this process to make pattern bars.

This course features four taught hours split into two sessions with an hour break in the middle. Where possible I will vary the time of day this course runs to suit those in different time zones. I am based in the UK and the timings listed are in GMT.

This course is demonstration based, you don’t need to buy any materials ahead of the course. Rather, you can gain all of the information from the course and decide what you would like to try afterwards. As the course is intensive, it will be recorded, and you will be able to refer back to it for one month following the course date.

The course will be interactive and limited to eight students to ensure you have time to ask any questions you have and there will be opportunities for discussion throughout.

Suitable for complete beginners to using moulds, but basic fusing skills are beneficial to get the most from the course.