Saturday 3rd April 2027 

Most gardens have a quiet corner that needs something. A bare fence panel, a patch of wall behind the planting, the end of a path where the eye stops and finds nothing much to look at.

This course fills it with a heron. A full metre tall, elegant, muted in colour, with flowing shapes that give the bird real movement — and completely weatherproof, so it stays out through whatever the Cheshire weather does next.

Jen will guide you through cutting, shaping and bonding the glass while you take your time over the colours. By the end of the day your heron is grouted with a strong waterproof mix and ready to come home with you.

No prior glass experience needed at all.

What You’ll Learn

• Cutting glass for mosaic – scoring and breaking glass accurately, using the proper tools
• Shaping pieces – working glass into the flowing forms that give the heron its movement
• Selecting your colours – building a muted, elegant palette that works outdoors
• Bonding and placement – laying your pieces so the design holds together and reads from a distance
• Waterproof grouting – finishing the piece with a strong weatherproof mix

Jen guides you through every stage, so you don’t need to have touched glass before. The colour choosing is the part most people lose themselves in.

What You’ll Make

One mosaic heron, 1m x 43cm — a genuine statement piece for a garden wall, fence or border.

Scale is what makes this one work. At a full metre tall it reads properly from across a lawn, and a heron is exactly the right subject for it: tall, still, elegant, and entirely at home near water or planting.

Because you choose your own colours within the muted palette, no two herons leave the studio the same.

Perfect For

• Anyone with a bare wall, fence or corner that needs a focal point
• Complete beginners – no prior glass experience needed
• Keen gardeners who’d rather make something than buy it from a garden centre
• Anyone who loves herons, waterbirds or wildlife in the garden
• Those who’d rather take a finished piece home the same day
• Groups and friends booking together – there’s no maximum number on this one

Your Tutor: Jennifer Barker – Lead Instructor & Founder

Jennifer has been working with glass for over 30 years, having discovered her passion for the medium while studying at Wolverhampton and Staffordshire Universities, where she completed a BA and MA in Glass.

Her expertise spans the full spectrum of glass techniques – from delicate kiln-formed pieces to large architectural installations. Jennifer’s specialist areas include kiln-formed glass, surface manipulation, and kiln-casting, but she’s equally passionate about traditional techniques like stained glass and copper foiling. For 12 years, Jennifer was Head of the Glass Department at Glyndŵr University, where she discovered that teaching glass art was almost as addictive as making it.

What sets Jennifer apart as an instructor is her genuine love for sharing knowledge. She believes that anyone can learn to work with glass beautifully – it just takes the right guidance, encouragement, and plenty of hands-on practice.

Can’t make the date? Please email us to register your interest at jen@cheshireschoolofglass.co.uk and we can let you know when further dates are added