There’s a chance to get creative and soak up the artistic atmosphere with glass crafting sessions for all ages this August.

At the heart of Stourbridge’s historic Glass Quarter the Red House Glass Cone will be hosting a range of exhibitions, workshops and events over the four day festival which runs from 23rd to 26th August.

This year’s them is ‘Placemaking’ and the craft sessions allow people to explore their own sense of house and home. Older children and adults can make a piece of fused glass in Creative Glass: My House on Friday 23rd August or Creative Glass: Our Place on Saturday 24th August. The sessions last one and a half hours and run at various times of the day costing £12 per person. They must be booked in advance on 01384 815571.

There are two glass painting sessions for youngsters aged 4+ on Friday 23rd and Saturday 24th August from 10.30am – 3.30pm and no booking is required. Sessions cost £3.50 per child. Councillor Ian Kettle, cabinet member for regeneration and enterprise said:

"The International Festival of Glass is a chance for us to celebrate our glassmaking heritage, which continues today with a range of artists working with glass across the whole of the Stourbridge Glass Quarter.

“These craft sessions allow people of all ages to have a go at being a glass artist for the day and experience what it’s like to work with this versatile material.”

The main event will be an exhibition of Swedish glass by The Glass Factory, a recently founded museums and glass centre which promotes creative, innovative developments with glass. It takes glass back to its raw form and looks at the vast array of ways it can be worked to produce striking and diverse artworks, from 3D printing to modelling the form to glass cactii.

The exhibition runs 23rd August until 30th September. To find put more or to book a place, visit dudley.gov.uk/ifog.