An Evening with – Aja Vaz

Hollow Beads

Thursday, June 15, 2023

Aja Vaz is known for her wonderful blown hollows. For this presentation, she will do a demonstration of how she does a simple off mandrel hollow. Dragon members, if you are interested in learning more about this intriguing skill, this is for you!

You can see more of Aja’s work on her Etsy – www.wanderingspirit.etsy.com
If you would like to thank Aja with a donation to her tip jar, you can send it to ajathompson@hotmail.com via Paypal.

After the Demo Update!

 (If you missed it, remember that members can watch the recorded demo on the Facebook Members’ Page, check it out!  And if you aren’t a member but would like to be, visit the Membership page)

Aja Vaz shared so many details of her bead making journey with us. Having an active duty military family and relocating every two years, her glass and tool supply was very limited. She quickly learned how to make the best use of what was available to her.

Learning along the way, having others share ideas and a lot of trial and error on her part, her skills and design esthetics grew. Having started small, she currently uses a Bethlehem Bravo torch with two 20 EX oxycons connected. Most of her hollow work is now off mandrel. Aja begins a piece by melting a grape sized gather to the very end of her blow stick.

She shared many details on making her pieces as well as cautionary tips to remember while learning the whole process – such as tricks for cleaning the pipe, laying on the glass and manipulating the molten glass to achieve the desired shape. Aja answered multiple questions from the membership and was such a joy to watch. It’s obvious she loves sharing what she as learned – and she loves figuring out what is next in her glass journey.

If you care to give your thanks, her PayPal is: ajathompson@hotmail.com

Dragon members can access the recording of Aja’s presentation through the members group Facebook page.