Masterclass: Wild Forms, Hot Glass Sculpture – Bruce Marks
Course Outline
Explore freeform hot glass sculpture in this lively two-day masterclass with Bruce Marks, using sketches, photographs and ideas as starting points for fantastical creatures, beautiful beasts, fanciful fish and other sculptural forms.
Experiment with assemblage, hot torch work, colour and pattern, and discover inventive ways to create texture using everything from traditional glass tools to everyday kitchen implements. Bruce’s demonstrations introduce a broad range of sculpting techniques, with plenty of hands-on time to test ideas, respond to the material and develop character, movement and individuality in the work.
Alongside the making, build the communication and assisting skills essential to hot glass sculpture. Practise sculpting both inside and outside the bench, explore different assisting roles and learn how to plan and coordinate more complex pieces as part of a glassblowing team.
The emphasis is on experimentation, collaboration and creative problem-solving rather than following a fixed formula. Best suited to glassblowers with some previous experience who want to expand their sculpting skills, work more freely with hot glass and push their making in new directions.
Profile - Bruce Marks
Bruce Marks is an established glass artist and Hot Studio Manager at London Glassblowing, where he has worked alongside Peter Layton since 2001. As Peter’s principal colourist, Bruce has developed extensive expertise in complex colour application while establishing his own distinctive sculptural practice.
After completing his Master’s Degree at the University for the Creative Arts, Farnham in 2010, Bruce returned as a guest lecturer and went on to win the Gold Award in the Glass category of the Craft & Design Selected National Awards in 2014.
His blown-glass sculptures explore simplicity of form and colour, with his celebrated Bird and Fish series drawing inspiration from the pared-back sculptural language of Brancusi. Bruce’s work is collected nationally and internationally and has been exhibited at major events including SOFA New York and Chicago, the Miami Art Fair and Collect.
In 2026 Bruce exhibited with London Glassblowing at Collect and across the studio’s 50th-anniversary programme, including Gather and Gaffers and Protégés. He continues to work at the heart of the London Glassblowing studio while developing his own sculptural glass practice.