Remy Garcia-Kakebeen
Madison mcneal-martinis
philip mwendwa
FRS 114 in Venice: Tuesday, 03/12
Hands-On Glass Work!
THE GLASS CLASS
Breakfast + Vaporetto
Tuesday’s bloggers eating breakfast at Combo before the big day!
We woke up at around 7:00 am to get ready to eat the Combo hotel breakfast at 8:00. The food was pretty nice, and we chatted about the day ahead. We departed the hotel for the Vaporetto at 8:30 am, on which we got to enjoy a beautiful distant view of Venice’s architecture as we traversed the sea (although it was quite foggy in the morning). We were headed to Murano, where the Abate Zanetti School of Glass is located!
Madison and Louisa enjoying the ocean breeze on the Vaporetto
Our view from the Vaporetto (look at that cool tower!)
Hands-On Work:
Frit Painting
Madison’s un-melted glass frit design
We started our day working with glass by designing glass panes with glass frit. We had various colors of frit and other small pieces of glass to work with. Everyone chose what they wanted to make and then started working. Once everyone was done, the staff at the school heated the pieces up to fuse the colors.
We split up into two groups, where one group would start with flamework bead making and then cut glass for mosaic glass fusion, while the other group would do the same in the opposite order.
Remy hard at work on her glass frit design
Remy’s final glass frit product
We split up into two groups, where one group would start with flamework bead making and then cut glass for mosaic glass fusion, while the other group would do the same in the opposite order.
After glass cutting and Frit painting, we went on to combine different glass rods to make beads. We were assisted by a French instructor who explained the techniques behind combining different glass rods to make beads of various shapes. We were able to make colored beads with variations in sizes! The process involved melting glass rods onto a copper wire and molding by exploiting gravity as we turned the wire, resulting in a bead shape. To get color variations, different molten glass rods were mixed and cooled down. At the end of our session, I attempted to switch off my flame resulting in a loud sound and flame erupting from my torch which had the potential to blow up the room! But thankfully, our instructor reached me in time and I was able to walk out with no injuries.
Hands-On Work:
Flamework Bead Making
Remy panicking from the roaring flame, while Elijah smiles
Learning how to make the beads
Madison in the bead making fit!
Timelapse of the flamework bead process
Hands-On Work: Glass Fusion
The workshop in which we designed and cut out the designs for our plates
We learned how to cut industrial and Murano glass with the proper tools. We were tasked with drawing out a geometric design for our plates, and then we had to plan which colors went to which piece in our design, and then we got to cutting the glass. Remy struggled quite a bit with this segment of her glass journey, but it was okay in the end because she still managed to finish her plate, even if it was a little scuffed in measurements. We wouldn’t be getting our plates back until Friday.
Philip’s marvelous Minecraft Pig plate (unfused)!
Remy being ecstatic that she’s done cutting industrial glass
Our classmates’ unfused plates!
Lunch
Between working on glass beads and making mosaics, the whole group took a break to get lunch with Princeton Alum Enea Zaranella. We went to a small pizza restaurant near the glass school, and lunch was a nice break from glassmaking. Over lunch, we learned about Zaranella’s background and career after Princeton. It was great to hear from an alumni about one possible path post-graduation. The pizza was also delicious!
PHILIP!
Remy!
Madison!
In my free time, I took some time to explore around the hotel with my classmates Nolani and Louisa. We started by looking at some of the beautiful canals, then we passed by a church and decided to look inside. After visiting the church, we did some shopping, and I bought matching glass bead bracelets for my mom, my sister, and I. After shopping, we got dinner and then gelato on the way back to the hotel. When we got back to the hotel, we ran into some of the other students in the class and ended up chatting in the lobby before going to sleep. Overall, I really enjoyed this opportunity to bond with my peers outside of the classroom.
Madison’s Free Time
Church near Rialto Bridge
Dinner & Gelato
Exploring & Taking Pictures
Bracelets!
Remy’s Free Time
In my free time after the hands-on glasswork, I got to shop in the glass shops on Murano for a bit before a group of us went back to Canareggio. Dr. Feng told us about this one Tiramisu place she wanted to take us to, and she told us to meet her at the Vaporetto dock at 5:45 if we wanted to try it with her. So the lot of us waited at the dock, taking photos by the water and against the setting sun. We then walked with Dr. Feng to the Tiramisu place (what is supposedly the “best tiramisu in Venice”). I can attest that that tiramisu was probably the best I have ever had. We then headed over to this one sandwich place which tasted pretty good, then we headed back to the hotel to get ready for bed.
My glass haul from Tuesday!
Tiramisu!
Taking photos at the dock!
We were all aghast by this choice of image when walking back
Philip’s Free Time
Most of the day was spent glassworking(9AM - 5PM) with a 1hr lunch break at noon. During this time, we had Pizza at a small glass school where I had Fanta Lemon for the first time, which was amazing!After the glass work, we treated ourselves to one of the most popular Tiramisu places shops in Venice! We also took a lot of pictures close to the Vaporetto station! We explored Venice some more that night and stumbled across really interesting shops! We had dinner at a popular sandwich restaurant
Reflections
I had a great time in Venice and Murano on Tuesday. I thought that it was really enriching to be able to expand upon the glasswork skills that we had started working on at Salem Community College. I also found it inspiring to be in the glass school and see all of the amazing work that the students there were doing, especially because they are only high school students. I also appreciate the work that Dr. Feng put in to connect us with Princeton alumni because I had a great time talking to Dr. Zaranella over lunch.
However, I think that my favorite part of the day was taking some time to explore with Louisa and Nolani. I didn’t know either of them before this class, and it was great to get to know them better because I probably would have never done that without this opportunity. They are both super fun people, and I hope to continue to be able to spend time with them after this class. On top of that, being able to explore on our own was a great opportunity because it allowed me to experience the city in a way that would have been impossible with the whole large group, and it made me more confident and independent.
My time in Venice and Murano was absolutely amazing!
This trip was my first-ever time going international and I am ever so grateful that I had the opportunity to experience this trip!
My favorite part of the day was probably the frit painting. It was very relaxing and therapeutic for me, and I enjoyed the “final” unfused product. I was very proud of myself.
Even though I complain a lot about the industrial glass cutting section, I did truly enjoy it as well, and I think my struggles and having Eros help me with my glass-cutting really taught me a lot about different techniques and approaches of how to cut glass. Furthermore, I had a mini-revelation regarding how Eros as a glassblower works with glass and how that compares to me working with paper as an avid origamist. The individual working with the material just knows how that material is going to act (in which direction it will break, the limits of the material, how not to bend or put pressure on it, etc), and I found that little connection between the materials of glass and paper a fun little takeaway from Tuesday!
I started the day off wth 4hrs of sleep, 2 cups of cappuccino, and a dream. Even under those circumstances, Tuesday was by far one of the most exciting time of the trip, as we got the opportunity to be glassworkers in a Murano Glass school!(and almost taking out an entire lab during the process).
I got to further appreciate the craftsmanship and patience required to learn all the various skills we learnt. Its one thing to see Frit painting and its another thing to attempt to do it. I am by far proud of how things turned out and I show off my art work to all my friends. I’ll always remember Eros (our lab instructor) and the help and assistance he gave. Although i didnt know italian, we bonded on the different colored glass that would best encapsulate my glass work. His warm smile and chiery “Ciao” will always be remembered when I look at my glass plate.
Besides the glass making, the opportunity to see more of Murano and Venice at night was amazing! And who can forget about the pictures!!
Madison
Remy
Philip
Thank you!
And that is all on The Glass Class’s time in Venice on Tuesday, March 12th!
Remy
Garcia-Kakebeen
Madison
McNeal-Martinis
Philip
Mwendwa
