Did you know that sand can turn into glass if lightning strikes it?

In this micro-lesson about glass, we take a closer look at glass as a material! Once a luxury product, glass is now so common that we hardly even notice it. Glass has many amazing properties. It can be manufactured industrially or made by hand in a glassworks using the traditional technique of glassblowing. In church windows, coloured glass can transform the light and create a magical atmosphere in the whole space.

Artists use glass in many different ways. The result can be exciting, beautiful and playful sculptures, where the properties and history of glass inspire new thoughts and feelings.

At the end of the lesson, you are encouraged to think about what you find most interesting about glass. What could it be used for in the future? You are also invited to try painting on glass!

In this lesson, we explore:

• How glass is made from sand, soda and lime

• How glass is manufactured industrially, for example flat glass used in ordinary windows

• How glass is made in a glassworks and how glassblowing works

• Glass recycling

• The different properties of glass and how four contemporary artists use them in their work