Berlin : October 2026
3 day Masterclass
The Neon Chandelier
£850 / €975 3 day Masterclass
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£160 / €180 Berlin Neon Sessions
3 Day Masterclass: 2nd, 3rd, 4th October
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Evening Neon Sessions: 2nd and 3rd /19:00 - 21:00
You will be based in the heart of one of Europe’s most creative capitals, at Berlin Flameworking Studio, and taught by artist and founder of Neon Workshops Richard Wheater. The class will use borosilicate tube and special hot torches with oxygen, to use this hard glass with heaps of sculptural potential. You will design and make a piece of illuminated gas-filled glass, suspended indoors or outdoors. Once individually documented, the group will work together with the tutors to assemble one stunning hanging light chandelier, using everyone’s neon components. You will leave at the end of the three days with your handmade neon, power supply and hanging fixings.
No experience is necessary.
In Berlin but don’t have 3 days to spare?
Our second offering is a two hour Neon Session, on Friday or Saturday evening. Learn what neon is, what it can do and how to make it.
See glowing examples of neon art explained, expect mesmerising demonstrations of cutting, blowing, stretching, bending and fusing glass with flame, filling with gas and illuminating with electricity. Experience the chance to have a go yourself under tuition and take home the results!
*Terms and conditions apply please click HERE for more details.
Porto : October 2025
Neon Masterclass
SOLD OUT
£750 / €895 per course
Richard Wheater: 10th, 11th, 12th
and
Jochen Holz: 14th, 15th, 16th
We are thrilled to announce not one but two very special mobile neon courses. Each three-day Masterclass will take place in the beautiful city of
Porto, Portugal.
Neon Workshops founder; Richard Wheater will head up the first 3 day fast-paced course, introducing up to 6 lucky participants how to shape glass to templates using fire and breath, transforming efforts into glowing red neon, using gas and electricity. No experience necessary.
Our second offering will delve into techniques used to manipulate borosilicate glass tubing, with German born, London based glass maker Jochen Holz. A long-time friend of Neon Workshops, Jochen has developed a huge following for his familiar playful and spontaneous looking glass forms. Experience preferred but not essential.
Masterclass 2023
April Key: Render to Reality
SOLD OUT
£965
September 7th, 8th, 9th & 10th September
Render to Reality will be headed up by Istanbul-based artist April Key, supported by her digital design assistant Berkan Çosan and the Neon Workshops team. Spanning four days in September at our Wakefield workshop (plus fieldtrips), April and team will take six participants through the process of transforming a sketch/modal into a video render using ‘Blender’ software, leading into the physical, sharing studio and on-site techniques to successfully collaborate with fabricators and installers. Neon Workshops will introduce everyone to the neon facilities and assist with fabricating. Each participant will enjoy an intense four days of tuition and discovery, with the opportunity to leave with both a ready render and neon sample.
No experience necessary. All materials included.
Masterclass 2020:
Neon Snakes
SOLD OUT
£750*
October 16th, 17th & 18th
Focus on neon’s place in the landscape with three days of making, installing and documenting, driven by American photographer and more recently neon maker, Steve Fitch (1949). Since the days of Easy Rider (movie) Fitch is among America’s most well-known chroniclers of the American West. This notoriety culminated in 2018 on the release of his book Vanishing Vernacular; a generous sized publication of beautiful light-balanced photographs, detailing neon-clad structures along the changing highway landscape.
No experience necessary. All materials included.
*Does not include meals or accommodation.
A recommended accommodation list is available on request
This masterclass will be based at Neon Workshops, located in Wakefield’s city centre.
Photo:
Insane-o-matic
Steve Fitch
2010
Sculpture in Neon
SOLD OUT
September 28th & 29th
Discover neon through sculpture, with a little help from our neighbours The Hepworth Wakefield. Be inspired with access to world-class artwork, and be introduced to neon as a sculptural material, as we pull out the stops and create an action-packed two days with fire, glass, gas and electricity. Take away your own designed neon sculpture.
Places very limited.
*Price includes high frequency neon power supply, worth £108.
All prices are inclusive of VAT.
Photo:
12 Months of Neon Love
Richard Wheater / Victoria Lucas
2011/ 2012
Neon Green Futures
Richard William Wheater
SOLD OUT
March 13th | 14th | 15th | 16th | 17th
8 places
Hosted at Canberra Glassworks, Australia
As a sign-post retaining nostalgia or a movie prop to project the future, the aesthetic of neon in narrative continues to retain powerful wide appeal. This Masterclass will be driven by Wheater’s renowned methods of using neon as a loaded story telling vehicle. The end result of the class will be less about the object and more the attempt to document a neon-infiltrated environment with perhaps a site-specific neon or action that it plays a role in. Expect the encouragement of experimentation. Expect to tear apart the traditional rule book on neon, how it's made and the role it can play. Expect to move from your comfort zone. Expect to take your work out of the workshop/gallery space, to engage with the world, as we push for new associations with this mysterious charged light.
Photo:
Musician Peter Broderick,
using Richard Wheater’s ’Neon Green Future’s prop’
as part of his 7A performance. 2018
