Graal Intensive at Pratt Fine Arts Center

April was Graal month for me. I finally got to teach an extended course at Pratt after only teaching weekend classes on hot overlay techniques. It was so fun to help my students explore engraving their overlays.

Shannon Spruiell making a Graal lava lamp

I had four students, most of whom had taken one of my weekend workshops on Swedish Overlay. This allowed them to get started making blanks almost immediately. Folks soon realized how much time and consideration goes into engraving these pieces.

Some engraved blanks ready to be finished

Students made significant progress in the consistency of their color overlays and refinement of the engraved design and final pieces by the end of the class. I was particularly impressed with Shannon Spruiell, who came into the class with a very specific idea to create lava lamps, and was able to experiment with different color combinations and thicknesses.

I chose to demonstrate a Graal that was carved both with a sand blaster and Dremmel tool. I like the control that carving by hand can give me, even though it takes a significant investment of time. Thankfully, Graals are pretty straightforward to finish once picked up successfully!

I prepped an encalmo beforehand and attached it once the piece was puntied. It's always worth showing how Graal can be combined with other glassblowing techniques to make very interesting results.

Graal demo piece