Ian Pearson
Ian commenced a career as a scientific glassblower with a company owned by his Uncle who was himself a scientific glassblower. The company, Scientific Glassware Specialists was based in Thornton Heath, Surrey, close to where Ian was born in 1953 at Croydon. Following this three year employment which saw Ian carry out artistic demonstrations of flame working to local schools and charities, other employers included: Scientific Glassblowing Company, Oldham; Jencons Scientific, Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire; United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority, Dounreay, Caithness. Ian retired from Dounreay in 2018 which allowed him to devote more time to Glass Creations and to focus on establishing himself as a glass artist.
In 1985 Ian became Editor of the Journal of the British Society of Scientific Glassblowers, www.bssg.co.uk a position he continues to hold today. In 2002 Ian was chosen to lead the BSSG as their Chairman and held this post until he stepped down in September 2009. Awarded Honorary Membership of the Society and in 2011 presented with his Fellowship. He has written many articles on flame working glass and travelled extensively in the UK as well as USA and Europe demonstrating his style of work. A regular exhibitor with the Scottish Glass Society Ian has also demonstrated various glass working techniques at several American Scientific Glassblowers Annual Symposiums as well at glass symposiums in Holland and Switzerland and many Symposiums organised by the British Society of Scientific Glassblowers, some of which he has organised. Ian has taught basic lamp working skills at North Lands in Lybster, Caithness.
To celebrate the thirtieth anniversary of Glass Creations Ian has made thirty sculptures each depicting a couple of figures in different positions and stages of being connected. Ian explains “I wanted to express the importance of being connected through my glass art which technically is all about connecting one piece of glass to another. I started the series of sculptures in January before the pandemic restrictions and had no idea then how relevant the theme of being connected was to be” Ian’s installation of “connections” can be viewed next year in various locations around Caithness.
