Turkish Lamp

 

A few years ago, while visiting Long Beach, I came across this store that had these beautiful lamps for sale. To my surprise, I found a class that taught you how to go about making these lamps in the traditional way. To say that I signed up was an understatement; usually, I think about something like this forever and never do it, but this time was different. I was paying before my brain could say no. Anyhow, if you're interested in taking a class, they offer them all over the company I went with, and I can't say enough nice things about them. https://artmasterclass.com/products/mosaic-classes-los-angeles?srsltid=AfmBOoqukXuZM9I5brP0u6JPWmjT_y7fwAyHL_mgbfZr5-e1RYcfjYvq 

During the class, they had all the materials set at tables ready to you to design your very own lamp. After picking which type of lamp you wanted to make, everyone's glass was pretty much the same size and shape. 

The first step was to lay out your design on a sheet which they gave you. There were so many different color choices that this took some time. It also gave you time to get to know the other people at your table and steal color choices that you might not have thought to put together.

Next, they gave you this clear, really sticky glue that you would then transfer your design from the sheet of paper onto your glass. While the glue didn't dry right away, it gave you time to move your design around on the round glass, which was helpful as transferring something from a 2D design to a 3D design could be a little tricky.

After you let the larger glass dry a bit on your dome, you filled in all the spaces with the little mixed beads. While it's nice to think that you can finish something in a single day, the glue needs to dry for 24 hr before grouting the whole thing so that you block the unwanted light. They gave you all the supplies to do the grouting at home with detailed directions.

I loved how my lamp came out, and I use it almost every day in the winter when the sun goes down so early in the day, and I can enjoy it. If you are given the opportunity to try a new craft, I say jump at it because it was such a wonderful experience.