6 Week Beginner Glassblowing Level 1

6-Week Beginner Glassblowing Course

Ready to go beyond a one-time glassblowing experience and really begin learning the craft? Our 6-Week Beginner Glassblowing Course is designed to give students a strong foundation in the skills, tools, techniques, and safety practices used in the hot shop.

New to the Hot Shop? Start Here First

If you have never worked in a hot shop before, we require that you first take one of our Make Your Own Glass classes before enrolling in this 6-week course.

Glassblowing is exciting, but it also involves significant heat, standing for extended periods, coordination, and physical stamina. A Make Your Own class gives you the opportunity to experience the hot shop environment firsthand and make sure you are comfortable with the heat and physical demands before committing to a six-week course.

What to Expect During Week One

The first class serves as both an introduction and the beginning of your glassblowing instruction. Your instructor will get to know you, introduce you to the hot shop, review essential safety practices, and assess your comfort level, physical ability, coordination, and ability to work safely in the studio.

By the end of the first class, your instructor will speak with you if they have any concerns about your ability to safely continue with the course. Our priority is creating an environment where every student can learn while maintaining the safety of the student, instructor, and others working in the hot shop.

Six Weeks of Progressive Instruction

The course meets once a week for six consecutive weeks, with each class lasting 3 hours. Because glassblowing skills build upon one another, each week's instruction is cumulative.

Students will focus on gathering glass from the furnace, becoming familiar with basic hot shop tools, reheating, shaping, and blowing into molten glass. The course covers the basic elements of glassblowing that go into making a basic cylinder, providing the foundation for future vessel-making and more advanced techniques.

Classes include instructor demonstrations along with plenty of hands-on practice. Students progress at their own pace under the supervision of professional glassblowers, with an emphasis on building good habits, confidence, control, and safe working techniques.

Attendance & Make-Up Policy — Please Read Before Registering

When you register for this course, you are reserving your instructor's time for all six weeks. Please review the entire course schedule before registering and make sure you are able to attend each scheduled class.

Because the course is cumulative, students who miss a class — whether because of a known scheduling conflict, illness, or unexpected emergency — must complete a private make-up hour with the instructor before the next scheduled class.

The make-up session is an additional expense paid by the student to cover instructor time, studio utilities, and hot-shop operating costs. This allows the student to learn the material they missed and rejoin the group prepared for the next lesson.

We are unable to refund missed classes or move individual course dates because of changes in a student's personal schedule.

What Comes Next?

Glassblowing is a skill that develops through repetition and practice, and students do not all progress at the same rate. At the end of the six-week course, each student will meet with their instructor to discuss their progress and receive a recommendation for their next step.

There are two typical pathways:

Continue Building Beginner Skills
Some students will be encouraged to repeat the Beginner Course to gain additional repetition and become more comfortable and consistent with the foundational skills. This is a normal part of learning glassblowing and gives students valuable additional time at the furnace and bench. If repeating the full six-week course does not work with your schedule, private instruction is also a great alternative for developing specific skills and getting additional practice.

Move on to Intermediate Glassblowing
Students who have demonstrated the appropriate foundational skills, consistency, and safe hot-shop practices may be recommended to enroll in our Monday Night Intermediate Glassblowing Course.

Students interested in eventually renting hot-shop time and working independently at BRGC must complete the Intermediate Course before they may request a safety assessment for independent studio rental. Completion of a course does not automatically qualify a student for independent rental; the safety assessment is a separate step designed to ensure that each renter is prepared to work safely and independently in the hot shop.

Small Classes, Serious Learning & Plenty of Hot Glass

Enrollment is limited to 8 students, allowing our instructors to provide individual attention while introducing students to the many aspects of glassblowing.

Every student develops at a different pace. The goal isn't for everyone to make exactly the same thing at exactly the same time. Our goal is to help each student develop strong foundational skills, safe working habits, and the confidence and control needed to determine their best next step in glassblowing.