Visiting Artist Workshop with Cooper O'Brien | Dec 4-11, 2026

2026 Visiting Artist Workshop with Cooper O’Brien | Mold School

6-day workshop held December 4-11, 2026. The workshop is split into two segments:

• Friday 12/4-Sunday 12/6, 9am-5pm with a one hour lunch break

• Wednesday 12/9-Friday 12/11, 9am-5pm with a one hour lunch break

Prerequisites: No prior experience required. Open to ages 14 years and older.

Cost: $990/person. All materials are provided. Eligible for member discounts.

Course Description: Mold School is a deep dive into the fundamentals of hotcasting through to experimental moldmaking. We'll begin with sand casting fundamentals and the teamwork and workflow that hot casting demands — learning to move molten glass as a coordinated shop. From there, the workshop builds into refractory moldmaking geared specifically toward hot casting. As work comes out of the annealer, we'll cover foundational finishing and coldworking approaches for cast objects. Open to all skill levels — no prior experience required.

Artist Biography: Cooper O'Brien’s sculptural practice is a correspondence with his career in glassmaking. Built on reevaluating the mechanisms of moldmaking and kilnforming, his work finds what they yield when recalibrated toward the unexpected. O'Brien holds an MFA from the Tyler School of Art and Architecture and a BFA from RISD, and has taught and been in residence at institutions including UrbanGlass and Pilchuck Glass School. As a fabricator, O'Brien has realized work for artists such as Karen LaMonte, Hank Murta Adams, Trevor Paglen, and Lorna Simpson. He lives and works in rural Maryland.

Class is limited to 9 individuals total.

42 hours total of class time.

Foci MCGA Cancellation and Refund Policy

This educational service is nontaxable. Eligible for Membership discount.