Optical Glass: Cold Working and Lamination with Visiting Artist Pavel Novak
Students will be supplied with solid blocks of optical glass, and will experiment with many aspects of coldworking to take the glass from it’s raw form to an optically polished masterpiece!
Using diamond saws, silicon carbide grit, diamond wheels, polishing wheels, rociprolap, vertical lathes, sandblasting and methods of hand working, students will learn new ways to perfect their coldworking skills.
Laminating glass elements using colored powders and HXTAL, dichroic glass and glass elements will be an integral part of the process.
During the course, Pavel will give several demonstrations of cutting, gluing, sandblasting and also grinding optical glass in various sizes from larger scale sculptural forms to very small-scale jewelry pieces.
Pavel’s instruction will serve you well in all your future fused glass work!
This 5 day workshop is limited to 6 students! If you're interested, sign up ASAP.
DATE: September 24-29, 2026
10am-5/6pm
For your information, the last day of class will most probably be ending early.
All glass and materials are included in this class.
Either bring lunch, or we will order out and pick it up for you.
There will also be a fun filled dinner on September 25th hosted by Meryl!
If you’d like more information regarding this class, feel free to call us at 732-384-7504.
Pavel was born and raised in the Czech Republic, a country with a long tradition of beautiful glass made with impeccable craftsmanship. His sculpture and jewelry are made from the highest grade of optical glass which is ground, polished, laminated, colored, and sandblasted. Pieces that will become jewelry are also combined with sterling silver that has been hand fabricated. Every piece is one of a kind and is the result of hours and hours of labor.
When designing his line of jewelry, he was challenged to integrate his glass with sterling silver while maintaining the integrity of each material. Pavel is not interested in setting the glass on top of the metal in a traditional stone setting but integrating the two materials to form a whole. His work is inspired by clean geometric shapes. His pieces feature bold colors and crisp lines that optically reflect on themselves and refract light creating kaleidoscopic results. Pavel ultimately seeks a balance of symmetry and asymmetry, positive and negative space, as well as shape and color.
Pavel has taught at Corning Glass, the Tyler School of Art, Pittsburgh Glass and in the Czech Republic.
