Verity Pulford’s solo exhibition, ‘Moss for a Bed’, opens on 4 July 2026 at Ruthin Craft Centre, Wales and runs until 20 September 2026.
‘Tippler’s Bane’ is a delicate rendition of a common mushroom.
Featuring a range of glassmaking techniques, Moss for a Bed takes its title and inspiration from the sense of comfort, peace, and connection that Verity finds in nature. The exhibition brings together a diverse body of work created with casting, alternative pâte de verre, fusing, painting, and etching. The works encompass both wall-based installations and sculpture, drawing inspiration from fungi, coral, seaweed and other botanical forms.
Coral made from cast blue glass.
Alongside the glass pieces will be a series of hand-carved porcelain vessels paired with removable cast glass stoppers. The vessels are carved to create tactile surfaces that respond to natural textures. The glass stoppers are created through wax sculpting and burnout casting processes, forming a visual and material dialogue between the translucent and the opaque.
‘Textures of Coral in Grey’ shows Verity’s mastery of delicate glass techniques.
Also featured in the exhibition is the work that earned Verity the Gold Craft and Design Award at the National Eisteddfod of Wales in 2025. This includes wall pieces and cast bird skulls.
Throughout her practice, Verity explores ideas of magical realism, creating imagined forms inspired by, and often combining characteristics of, different plants, fungi and organisms. Through glass, she develops a personal visual language that blurs the boundaries between the natural and the fantastical.
The show will be held in Gallery 3 at Ruthin Craft Centre. The exhibition launches at 2pm on Saturday 4 July and Verity will present a talk about the work on the morning of 5 July.
The exhibition will be touring to Canfas in Cardigan and The Biscuit Factory in Newcastle.
There is free admission and free on-site parking. Opening Hours: Tuesday – Sunday, 10am – 5.30pm.
Ruthin Craft Centre, The Centre for the Applied Arts, is at: Park Road, Ruthin, Denbighshire LL15 1BB, Wales.
Detail of ‘Dark Treasures’.
Verity Pulford is based in Eryrys, North Wales. Her work is sold in leading galleries, exhibited internationally and collected by private and public institutions. She is a QEST Scholar, part of the Homo Faber Guide and member of the Guild of Makers of Wales. Verity has exhibited at Collect in London and the British Glass Biennale on several occasions.
She has been awarded Arts Council of Wales grants for three major projects and Wales Arts International funding for a residency at Pilchuck Art School in Seattle, USA. She also undertook a funded residency at North Lands Creative Glass Studio in Caithness.
Glass artists under the age of 35 are invited to apply to exhibit at YOUNG GLASS 27, to be held at Glas – Museum of Glass Art in Ebeltoft, Denmark, from 20 March 2027 to 16 January 2028.
YOUNG GLASS 27 is the fifth edition of an international, juried competition for artists under the age of 35, organised by Glas – Museum of Glass Art. Held every 10 years, YOUNG GLASS was launched in 1987 to reward and promote innovation and emerging talent in contemporary glass.
Works for the exhibition will be selected by a high profile, international jury, and cash prizes and artist residencies will be awarded to the winners.
The 2027 competition will have a special focus on artistic explorations of sustainability and craftmanship.
The jury panel comprises:
Pernille Taagaard Dinesen, Chief Curator, Glas – The Museum of Glass Art Maria Bang Espersen, practising international glass artist, based in Sweden Sven Hauschke, Director, European Museum of Modern Glass, Coburg, Germany Ruriko Tsuchida, Director, Toyoma Glass Museum, Japan Monica Guggisberg and Philip Baldwin, practising international artists, based in the UK Susie Silbert, freelance curator, Corning, New York, USA.
The final judging of the competition will take place on Friday, 19 March 2027 and the prize winners will be announced and an award ceremony held at the opening event on 20 March 2027. A catalogue will be produced to accompany the exhibition.
After the exhibition in Ebeltoft, the show will move to Kunst Sammlungen der Veste Coburg, Germany, from February 2028.
A retrospective featuring the glass work of Keith Cummings, an Endangered Crafts exhibition and live glassmaking demonstrations headline a summer showcase of glass heritage and contemporary practice at Stourbridge Glass Museum this August.
A Celebration of Glass 2026 is a collaborative initiative taking place across the Stourbridge Glass Quarter. At the heart of the museum’s programme is ‘Some Old, Some New’, a major exhibition celebrating the work of internationally renowned glass artist Keith Cummings. Opening on 22 August 2026 and running until 22 February 2027, the exhibition brings together historic pieces alongside previously unseen works, offering visitors a rare chance to trace the breadth and evolution of Cummings’ distinguished career.
The opening weekend will include a Stourbridge Glass Museum members-only private view on Friday 21 August, followed by an artist talk by Keith Cummings on Saturday 22 August.
Running alongside until 7 November 2026, the Endangered Crafts exhibition, supported by Heritage Crafts and the Contemporary Glass Society, turns a spotlight on some of Britain’s most vulnerable traditional crafts and the skilled makers working to keep them alive.
Families and visitors of all ages can also watch live glassmaking demonstrations as part of the Worshipful Company of Glass Sellers’ National Doodle Competition. On Saturday 22 August, acclaimed glassmaker Allister Malcolm and his team will bring the winning designs to life, transforming children’s drawings into finished glass artworks in front of a public audience.
The programme is completed by a recycled glass and materials workshop led by artist Terri Malcolm, exploring sustainable approaches to contemporary making.
Stourbridge Glass Museum is part of the historic Glass Quarter and is working in partnership with the Red House Glass Cone, Ruskin Glass Centre, Blowfish Glass Gallery and the General Office Gallery to draw visitors across the area into its rich glassmaking story. Together, the venues will offer exhibitions, a craft market, demonstrations, theatre performances, workshops and open studios throughout the August weekend.
Museum Director Alexander Goodger said: “We are reviving a glass festival with local partners. A Celebration of Glass is a chance to show what makes this place genuinely special: the heritage, yes, but also the creativity that’s very much alive here now. From legendary makers to emerging artists and children’s competition winners, the programme reflects the full range of talent and craft that defines the Glass Quarter. We are showcasing what makes us the most award-winning museum in the Midlands. Don’t miss all the beautiful art.”
Returning to glassblowing after a 35-year gap was all in his stride for Mark Fenn. In the three years since appearing on the BBC tv series ‘Make It At Market’ with his honey-infused glass art, he’s had several ups and one down, but he keeps a positive attitude. Linda Banks finds out more.
You came back to glass after many years away from it. What inspired you to start working with glass again?
I watched Netflix’s ‘Blown Away’ Season 1 – the entire series – over the course of two evenings and within half an hour of watching the final episode I had booked myself on a three-day intermediary course at the Glass Hub as a 60th birthday treat to myself. It was 35 years since I had blown any glass, and I felt completely at home again being back in the chair. I booked onto several more courses at various venues over the next year, all of which were cancelled due to the COVID-19 lockdown. Therefore I set up my own studio as a hobby and began teaching myself how to blow glass again. Then I started running glassblowing courses.
‘Honey-Infused Bowl, Autumn’ features honey infusions to create an organic effect. Photo courtesy of the artist.
What glass techniques have you used, and which do you prefer?
I prefer making my glass free-form, using heat, gravity and centrifugal force. I introduce bubbles into my forms and I like to experiment with infusing organic materials into the glass to create the bubbles. Traditionally, bubbles in glass were to be avoided at all costs. I started off infusing supermarket-bought sauces and condiments into my glass, mainly to save money on expensive colours while I experimented with infusion.
Close-up of a gather of glass with honey infusion. Photo: Raz McNulty.
Please tell us more about your creative process. Do you draw your ideas out or dive straight in with the materials?
I start off with an individual base colour – green, ruby, blue, amber or white – which becomes the background for the infusions. Part of the experimental process was to try and control the distribution and flow of the resulting bubbles throughout the forms, and, yes, then it’s diving straight in. The forms that I make are all forms that are made by bees within the beehive. Each piece is a new adventure and experience and to a certain extent a new experiment as one never quite knows what interventions will be required, how it will go or turn out.
Mark Fenn heating hexagonally moulded glass in the furnace. Photo: Raz McNulty.
Unusually, you use honey in your glass designs. What is the significance of this?
I’m a beekeeper and using the honey gathered from my native Welsh black bees to infuse into my glass was an obvious choice. Molten glass has the consistency of honey and I had some honey that had fermented so I took it into the studio to experiment with, rather than throw it away. Beekeeping is similar to glassblowing; focus and concentration are required. Even the calm and flowing movements of the beekeeper and the glassblower are similar; both require precision and timing and paying attention to detail.
You took part in the first BBC tv series of ‘Make It At Market’. How did that experience affect your glass practice?
It was a great honour and privilege to be selected for BBC1’s ‘Make it at Market’ and to have Allister Malcolm as our glassblowing mentor. I applied to go on the show largely because I had no previous experience of running a business or of how to sell my glass and thought that having a mentor would be helpful. I never thought for a moment I would be chosen and had nearly forgotten all about it when I found out I had been selected.
Within a couple of hours of the show airing, I had completely sold out of stock. I spent the next six months making the orders that kept flooding in, often working through the night. The show aired across North America, Scandinavia and South Asia and, all of a sudden, I had orders from the US. I don’t think any of us were fully prepared for that, not even the programme producers. It exceeded all our expectations. The glassblowing courses also took off at that point and I’ve had people from America and Australia attend my courses.
Saskia Dammers is Mark Fenn’s assistant. He taught her glassblowing and she now exhibits her own work. Photo: Raz McNulty.
Allister picked up on my honey-infusion idea and we decided to develop this technique into something I could sell. I had only sold a handful of honey-infused pieces at that point and was considering abandoning that and moving on to making something else. I was already making shapes based upon the forms that the bees make naturally within the beehive, the queen cup and the queen cell, but I didn’t have anything at that time that represented the honeycomb. Allister had two hexagonal moulds in the back of his studio, one large and one small, which he gifted to me. This meant I had forms that represented the honeycomb and from that I developd a range to represent the seasons, Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter. Although I use the moulds to produce the honeycomb forms, each piece is still finished in the furnace by hand.
‘Autumn Joy’ features honey-infused glass, creating different patterns. Photo courtesy of the artist.Mark Fenn shaping the base of a bee-cell inspired hexagonal artwork. Photo: Raz McNulty.
Do you have a favourite piece or collection you have made? Why is it your favourite?
My next piece will always be my favourite. Of course, there are pieces that I have sold that I wish I had kept. I really like to use amber in all its shades, as it’s the natural colour of honey. Some of my favourite pieces have been ones that have happened unintentionally or by accident such as ‘Pollen Sac’ which I exhibited in the Contemporary Glass Society (CGS) exhibition ‘Flow’ in Cardiff (see main image).
Where do you show and sell your work?
I mainly sell my work online on my website and at a couple of galleries and museum shops: the Bluecoat Crafts Display Centre in Liverpool and Ruthin Craft Centre in north Wales, the Stourbridge Glass Museum shop and the World of Glass shop in St Helens.
Do you have a career highlight?
There are several, and they include the following (not in any particular order): appearing on ‘Make it at Market’; exhibiting my honey-infused glass in the CGS ‘Flow’ exhibition; my first live exhibition since my degree show at Stourbridge College of Art; being invited by the Bluecoat Crafts Display Centre to display my glass ‘In the Window’; the Museum of Glass in Stourbridge having two pieces of my Honey Infused hexagonal glass in their permanent collection; and being contacted by a famous Hollywood film director, who is married to a famous Hollywood casting director, who bought several pieces of my honey-infused glass after watching the show on BritBox.
Heating mould-blown glass before hand-finishing, which is an important part of Mark’s practice. Photo: Raz McNulty.
Where is your creative practice heading next?
That’s a good question. I had to close the studio in March 2026 because the landlord would not renew the lease and all the tenants had to leave what was Liverpool’s ‘flagship’ arts venue. We were only told this in February. I managed to sell some of my studio equipment to fund moving the rest and a good glassblowing friend has very kindly let me store some of my equipment in their studio. Most of the stock has had to go into storage, too, so it’s been a very trying time, as well as physically and emotionally exhausting. I thank everyone for being so patient and understanding and those who offered help.
I’m a big believer in if one door closes another door opens and, a few weeks ago, I was asked by The World of Glass if I would like to help out in the run-up to the International Festival of Glass in August, so I’m working on the Hot Shop floor and happy to be there.
And finally…
These are very difficult and challenging times for small businesses, particularly for glass studios, and even more so due to the rise in the cost of living, rent, materials and fuel. There needs to be more support made available, both locally and by central Government, in terms of funding, venues for studios and leases. It’s all very archaic. New thinking and a strategy is required that both reflects the changing times that we live in and is fit for the future.
Find out more about Mark Fenn and his work via his website.
Main feature image: Mark Fenn’s ‘Honey Infusion Pollen Sack’ was created with uncontrolled flow and exhibited at the ‘Flow’ exhibition in Cardiff. Photo courtesy of the artist.
The Contemporary Glass Society (CGS) invites anyone graduating from a UK or European higher education course to apply for this year’s Glass Sellers’ and CGS Graduate Prize and inclusion in the CGS New Graduate Review magazine. This prestigious competition is designed to support emerging graduates as they embark on their careers in contemporary glassmaking.
Thanks to the continued generosity of the Worshipful Company of Glass Sellers of London Charity Fund and other esteemed sponsors – Creative Glass, Pearsons Glass, and Warm Glass – this presents an exceptional opportunity for new glass graduates to showcase their work on a global stage.
Why Enter?
Worldwide exposure: Winning works will be featured in the CGS New Graduate Review 2026, a 16-page digital publication, which will be sent out to universities, galleries, museums and CGS members, as well as being hosted on the CGS website. The four top winners will also be highlighted in a four-page section in the CGS print magazine Glass Network (November 2026 edition), which is circulated to all CGS members.
Prizes for a Winner, Second Prize, and two Runners-up. There will also be Commendations.
Career Support: New Graduate Review is an invaluable platform to launch a career in glass, with many past winners establishing themselves as respected professional glassmakers.
Eligibility
Graduates of European-accredited courses* in 2026.
Work must consist of at least 50% glass.
Degree or training must have been completed during the current or past academic year.
Applicants must be CGS members (student membership available).
Selection criteria
Quality and concept of the work.
Innovation in glass-working techniques.
Use of glass (minimum 50%).
Graduation from an accredited European course in 2026.
A panel of expert judges will select the prize winners. Winning entries will be announced mid-to-late August 2026 and featured in the digital New Graduate Review and Glass Network print magazine.
Prizes
Winner:
£300 cash
£150 voucher from Creative Glass UK
Cover feature and article in the digital New Graduate Review
Main feature in the printed CGS Glass Network magazine.
Two years’ free CGS membership
Second Prize:
£150 cash
£100 voucher from Warm Glass
Article in the digital New Graduate Review
Coverage in the printed CGS Glass Network magazine
One-year free CGS membership
Runners-up (two awards):
£50 voucher from Pearsons Glass
Article in the digital New Graduate Review
Article in the printed CGS Glass Network magazine
One-year free CGS membership
*European-accredited courses include institutions in the following countries:
Albania, Andorra, Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Moldova, Monaco, Montenegro, Netherlands, North Macedonia, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, San Marino, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, UK, Ukraine, Vatican City.
Deadline for entries: Sunday 12 July 2026
How to enter
Graduates are invited to submit their best work using the digital form on CuratorSpace, via this link.
The Glass Sellers Charity** is associated with The Worshipful Company of Glass Sellers, one of the City of London’s historic livery companies. Its sponsorship of the CGS Graduate Prize and New Graduate Review forms part of its programme to support artistic glass and glass industry awards, as well as ad hoc support for other glass art projects. Another of its major initiatives is ‘Glass in Society’, which funds glass-related projects nationwide.
The Glass Sellers Company received its Charter in 1664, being initially founded to regulate the glass selling and pot-making industries in the City of London. It is one of 114 City of London Livery Companies. The Company’s modern aims include maintaining and developing relationships between the City and the wider glass industry, as well as stimulating interest in glass in all its aspects, including art glass.
(** Worshipful Company of Glass Sellers Charity Fund: Reg. Charity No. 253973)
Over 40 glass artists, representing some of the best studio glass from the past 50 years, will show work at the Bermondsey Street studio between 12 June and 5 July 2026.
For half a century, London Glassblowing has been at the forefront of studio glassmaking. From opening his studio in 1976 in Rotherhithe, to the vibrant gallery now on Bermondsey Street, founder Peter Layton has been on a risky yet remarkable journey of experimentation, innovation, and evolution with glass.
Peter Layton has worked with studio glass for 50 years, supporting many other artists to develop their craft along the way. Photo: Alick Cotterill.
Peter’s endeavour began in a world that offered no market for studio glass. He had to sustain himself through part-time teaching and selling pieces from the boot of his car. Now, 50 years later, London Glassblowing represents this magnificent achievement and Peter’s profound legacy.
To celebrate this momentous milestone, Peter has invited over 40 artists to create new work for the landmark exhibition ‘Celebrating 50 years of London Glassblowing’ (12 June-5 July 2026) – a gathering that tells the story of the company’s extraordinary journey. The show brings together the work of current resident artists, guest artists, and artists who worked alongside Peter in his previous studios, including Gayle Matthias, Marie Hastrup Holm, and Siddy Langley.
The exhibition also honours the memory of pioneering figures who worked in the studio and are sadly no longer with us. These artists remain vital to the glass world, with archived pieces from Sam Herman, Karen Lawrence and Jochen Ott on display. Their contributions helped shape the studio glass movement in Britain.
London Glassblowing states, “This is more than an anniversary exhibition. It represents five decades of artistic voices, a testament to the remarkable diversity that has always been London Glassblowing’s hallmark, and a celebration of how studio glass evolved from an uncertain beginning to a collectable art form embraced worldwide.”
Peter Layton’s iridescent glasswork. Photo: Sylvain Deleu.
Exhibitors include: resident artists Anthony Scala, Bruce Marks, Daisy Parkinson, Harriet Thorne, Liam Reeves, Louis Thompson, Sarah Manly, Sarah Wiberley and Sila Yücel; artists who have worked in the studio Cathryn Shilling, Elliot Walker, Hanne Enemark, Laura McKinley, Layne Rowe, Sabrina Cant and Stan Chen; guest artists Alison Kinnaird, Alison Lowry, Amanda Simmons, Bruno Romanelli, David Reekie, Gillies Jones, James Devereux, James Maskrey, Joseph Harrington, Karen Browning, Katherine Huskie, Max Jacquard, Monette Larsen, Nina Casson McGarva, Rachael Woodman, Richard Jackson, Sally Fawkes and Tomáš Brzon; ‘blasts from the past’ Adam Aaranson, Anna Chrysopoulo, David Flower, Gayle Matthias, Marie Hastrup Holm, Max Lamb, Sam Herman and Siddy Langley; plus legacy artists Karen Lawrence, Jochen Ott and Sam Herman.
Established in an era of creative uncertainty for glass, the studio has weathered changing fashions and multiple economic recessions to become a cornerstone of the contemporary glass movement. Its longevity is a testament to both Peter’s vision and the strength of the community he has cultivated.
The London Glassblowing gallery today.
This momentous period for London Glassblowing will continue into 2027, when Peter Layton turns 90 – making him one of the oldest practising glassmakers in the world. The gallery states, “In a poignant passing of the torch, Peter will formally introduce Tim Rawlinson and his daughter Sophie Layton as the new successors of London Glassblowing. Together with his wife Ann, Peter has made an immeasurable impact on the studio glass scene in the UK and beyond, which Tim and Sophie endeavour to continue.
“At a time when many university glass departments, independent studios, and galleries are under threat, the continuation of London Glassblowing stands as a powerful symbol of resilience and renewal. Tim and Sophie are poised to carry the vision forward, illuminating the vital role the studio plays in sustaining the future of glass in the UK.”
The exhibition is on from 12 June – 5 July 2026 (Tuesday – Saturday: 10am-5pm; Sunday – 11am-5pm). Entry is free and visitors can watch glass artists at work in the studio.
Main image: New work ‘Medusae’ by Peter Layton marks his return to graphic simplicity. Photo: Sylvain Deleu.
Three glass artists teamed up with renowned garden designer Patrick Clarke to produce a 28-piece glass installation for The Children’s Society Garden at this year’s RHS Chelsea Flower Show and it won a Gold Medal.
Left to right: Rachel Welford, Matt Nickels and Elliot Walker in the Stourbridge hotshot. Photo: Bethany Wood.
Matthew Nickels, the BBC’s ‘The Repair Shop’ glass expert, worked with established Yorkshire-based artist and University of Sunderland academic tutor Rachel Welford and Stourbridge-based Elliot Walker, winner of ‘Blown Away’ series 2, to bring the project to fruition within Patrick’s design requirements.
A view of the show garden featuring recycled materials and the decorative glass panels suspended between the metal beams. Photo: Matthew Nickels.
The installation includes traditional mouth-blown sheet glass, which is included on the Heritage Crafts Red List as an endangered craft. Elliot Walker trained with US glassmakers in 2025 to enable him to carry on this skill in the UK after English Antique Glass ceased making it. He was commissioned to make the cylinder sheet glass used in the project.
The six cylinders of mouth-blown glass made by Elliot Walker. Photo: Elliot Walker.
Patrick was keen to design a garden featuring glass and approached The Children’s Society with his ideas and concept. Following this, Matthew was invited to work on the plan and he brought in Rachel as he had always wanted to collaborate with her.
Another view of the garden, designed to be a tranquil space for young people. Photo: Matthew Nickels.
The contribution of young people from The Children’s Society was an integral part of the design of the glass artworks. Guided by Matthew and Rachel, ‘Young Creative Partners’ aged between 14 and 20 years, from the charity’s Youth Club Network, designed and created sample fused glass artworks that were used to guide and inform the artistic process.
Rachel commented, “Having The Children’s Society ‘Young Creative Partners’ guide the design has been so important in making sure the garden is created by young people and for young people.”
Each panel was inspired by designs made by the young people who will enjoy the garden in its permanent home. Photo: Matthew Nickels.
Matthew, Rachel and Patrick had many discussions regarding the brief, colours, glass, possibilities and limitations. As Matthew explained, “We followed Patrick’s outline to design the tailored workshop for the young people at the youth club. What made this such a great project for us was that Patrick recognised the need for us to have artistic freedom, as long as we were operating within the brief and used the artworks created by the young people as our foundation and inspiration. It was our artistic choice to use glass made by Elliot at Blowfish and to support the craft.”
They went to the hotshop in Stourbridge to ask Elliot to make six mouth-blown glass cylinders within the original brief boundaries and give suggestions, while still allowing his artistic creativity and understanding of the process to show his own interpretation.
Close-up of one of the glass panels. Photo: Matthew Nickels.
The 28 glass panels comprise a top layer of multi-layered glass with copper and silver wire sandwiched between more layers. These were fused on a 48-to-72 hour fusing schedule. Depending on the individual panel, this process was repeated two or three times, adding more detail each time until the artists were happy with the final piece.
The glass panels come to life against the sky. Photo: Matthew Nickels.
Matthew stated, “Each top layer was then laminated to either a piece of Elliot’s glass or a piece of clear float glass. We painted and fired lines onto this layer which joined up with lines from the other pieces to create a connecting, yet subtle, flow. We used Bohle 2K Silicone Verifix to laminate the pieces to allow this two-layered effect, as well as to make the glass shatterproof (essentially making it into safety glass).
Each panel was built up over several firings. Photo: Matthew Nickels.
For Matthew and Rachel it was essential to include traditionally made glass in the RHS Chelsea instillation. Matthew continued, “Not only is this important in maintaining UK craft skills but also a means to link young people from The Children’s Society with heritage crafts and the processes involved.
“Having mouthblown glass at RHS Chelsea brings together the historic craft of glass making, blending it with the classic and historic craft of garden design. The organic nature of glass lends itself so perfectly to the natural elements, so this really was the perfect marriage.”
Elliot said, “The knowledge needed to produce sheet glass, with all the multiple facets involved, is broad, but is something which can’t just be written down. It is a feeling and needs to be passed on through direct in-person teaching rather than just something in a book.”
One of the cylinders being blown by Elliot Walker in his hotshot. Photo: Rachel Welford.
Speaking about the concept behind his design, Patrick stated, “The glass pieces each cast contrasting coloured light and animated shadows to create a cocoon of creativity and safety for the young people.” There is also a recycled element to the design, which reflects the Japanese philosophy of ‘wabi-sabi’ that is interwoven throughout Patrick Clarke’s garden design – where forgotten, imperfect materials are recrafted with resilient plants to create a beautiful environment.
All this careful planning and collaboration resulted in a garden that impressed the Chelsea judges enough to award it a coveted Gold Medal.
Detail of one of the fused glass panels with inclusions and mouth-blown glass. Photo: Matthew Nickels.
Matthew summed up the team’s response: “We’re elated that The Children’s Society garden has won a Gold Medal. The concept behind the garden designed by Patrick Clarke has been about creating a real garden experience, providing calm and making a space where young people can reflect and find peace. The Gold Medal just gives recognition that this is exactly what it does!”
The garden was co-funded by charity Project Giving Back, which funded 11 gardens at the Show this year. It will be relocated to Leighton Buzzard Youth Centre in Bedfordshire and used as a permanent outdoor wellbeing space for young people from The Children’s Society Youth Club that is based there.
Another award at Chelsea
Contemporary glass was also recognised as part of the Eden Sculpture Pavilion, designed specifically for the Chelsea Flower Show by These White Walls to showcase large-scale outdoor art, with the display being awarded Five Stars.
The stand included a major sculptural work by award-winning glass artist Karen Browning, called Ortus. The sculpture is an oval form in glass, standing nearly a metre tall, which refracts surrounding colours, designed to seamlessly integrate with the natural landscape of the Chelsea gardens. Karen stated, “Ortus is my largest cast and polished optical glass piece to date, weighing in at just under 80 kg and 95 cm tall. It was made especially for Eden’s stand.”
The ‘Ortus’ sculpture by Karen Browning. Photo: Matthew Nickels.
The artwork continues her move into new artistic territory with large-scale pieces for outdoor display, following the success of Realms of Reflection, shown at Charleroi Glass. Biennale in Belgium in 2024.
Karen is best-known for her bold, ‘gunshot’ glass pieces cast from bullet holes, which earned her the “Best in Show’ award at the British Glass Biennale in 2022. Her work also features in the V&A’s permanent collection.
Main feature image: Detail of panel from The Children’s Society garden comprising fused design elements and mouth-blown glass. Photo: Matthew Nickels.
Glass artists under the age of 25, as well as Bachelor’s or Master’s degree graduates from 2025 and 2026 (with no age limit), are invited to apply for the 2026 Stanislav Libenský Award.
The Stanislav Libenský Award is an international competition and exhibition dedicated to emerging glass artists from around the world. First Prize is a summer residency at Pilchuck Glass School (USA) in 2027, with the opportunity to choose courses. There will also be an exhibition featuring the work of 50 selected finalists at Clam-Gallas Palace in Prague, Czech Republic.
Applicants are invited to submit a work made primarily of glass. All techniques and approaches are welcome.
The Stanislav Libenský Award was established in 2009 and over the years has shown the work of 627 artists from 42 countries and 76 universities. The award celebrates the name of Stanislav Libenský, considered the most outstanding Czech glass artist and teacher. His works, created in collaboration with Jaroslava Brychtová, are in museums and galleries worldwide. He also taught at the Academy of Arts, Architecture, and Design in Prague and was a director and educator at the School of Applied Arts for Glassmaking in Železný Brod.
Organised by Prague Gallery of Czech Glass, the competition and exhibition aim to help develop glass art among young people and showcase different working approaches, supporting them to enter the business world and explore the potential of glass.
Key dates
Deadline: 31 August 2026 (midnight CET)
Selection announcement: 15 September 2026
Gala & exhibition opening: 30 November 2026
Exhibition: 1 December 2026 – 31 January 2027
Early bird fee: EUR 79 (until 30 June 2026) Standard fee: EUR 89 (until 31 August 2026)
Through her multi-modal artwork and installations, Liz Waugh McManus brings together sculptural glass and twenty-first century technologies to capture the ephemeral nature of moving light and encourage viewers to interact. Linda Banks finds out more.
You are a multidisciplinary artist using traditional and digital making. What led you to start working with glass?
I was excited when I came across Keith Cummings’ book Techniques of Kilnformed Glass, and seeing the range of techniques and effects that glass offered immediately inspired me. I was already using the lost-wax process for bronze sculpture, so it was a natural progression into cast glass. A masterclass with Canadian artist Irene Frolic at North Lands Creative Glass in Scotland helped me join the dots and gave me confidence to invest in my first kiln. I then did short courses with established glass artists in the early days, and more recently at Pilchuck Glass School in the USA. I was blessed to have mentorships with Emma Woffenden, via Firstsite Gallery in Essex, and Angela Thwaites, via the CGS, which helped me develop my artistic practice.
What glass techniques have you used in your mixed media approach, and which do you prefer?
I use different qualities offered by glass along with other materials and interactive technologies. Depending on the effect I am aiming for, I have used glass fusing, blowing, flameworking, waterjet cutting and printing, but kiln-casting is where my expertise lies. I love modelling in clay or wax, and have made moulds all my working life, initially puppet heads and masks for theatre, then sculpture.
Liz Waugh McManus taking textural impressions on the beach. Photo: A. Thwaites.
Please tell us more about how you approach a new design. Do you draw your ideas out or dive straight in with the materials?
Sometimes I dive straight in, but, to work out composition, I tend to use drawing, as well as plasticine or cardboard maquettes. When 3D printing models for casting, often adjustments need to be made, so it is an iterative process.
What message(s) do you want to convey through your art?
My multimodal installations seek to convey the beauty and fragility of the natural world, to encourage people to pay closer attention, to value biodiversity, and ultimately to mitigate against climate change. I also encourage a sense of play through people interacting physically and conceptually with the art.
Liz Waugh McManus recording sounds at the eroding coastline at Covehithe in Suffolk for a collaborative project with her son. Photo: M. McManus.
What is your favourite tool or piece of equipment and why?
For modelling, I have a particular dental tool. I mislaid it once and bought a replacement, so now I have a backup. I also love any tools that enhance vision and give new perspectives to inform what I make, for instance, telescopes, microscopes or drones.
Do you have a favourite piece or collection you have made? Why is it your favourite?
Jeopardy is a favourite because it combines glass, animation and real-time earthquake data to connect with what is happening across the world. A large flint is suspended above a glass doll’s house by a thread, like the Sword of Damocles. If there is a minor tremor anywhere in the world, a hand-painted animation of flying birds appears on the rear screen, and if there were a major quake, the flint would drop on the glass house and its occupants, hopefully prompting the viewer to empathise with the predicament of real people experiencing the quake.
‘Jeopardy v.2’ features waterjet-cut, fused, and cast glass, animation, flint rock and a Raspberry Pi microcomputer. Photo: L. Waugh McManus.
Your doctoral research at the University of Sunderland investigated an ‘Internet of glass things’. Tell us more about this.
In developing Jeopardy, I explored the long-distance communication that the Internet of Things enables. My research explored the blending of traditional glass crafts and tools with computational materials to create interactive objects. I also looked at methods for embedding conductive traces in glass and connecting to microcontrollers to enable audio or visual content to be triggered through (capacitive) touch. For instance, when you touch the copper-electroformed writing on She’s Got the Wrong End of the Stick, audio recordings are triggered of conversations I discovered in notebooks kept by my mother, who was deaf.
‘She’s Got the Wrong End of the Stick’ includes flameworked glass that has been copper-electroformed, glass cyanotype, plus touch-interactive audio. Photo: L. Waugh McManus.
My aim in making multi-modal artwork is to engage people not only through vision, but also through other senses like hearing and touch. Even in artworks like Infinity in Our Hands (see main feature image), where audio is triggered through torches shone on sensors, visitors are also encouraged to touch – something that is usually discouraged in glass exhibitions!
Visitors interacting with ‘Infinity in Our Hands’ at the Hirshhorn Museum. Photo: L. Waugh McManus.
For my PhD, I was less interested in drilling down into one technique or technology than in exploring combinations that expand ways to engage and communicate with viewers. The Internet of Glass Things is a hybrid physical-digital medium that combines physical glass objects, with their own specific metaphorical and haptic qualities, with ephemeral content-bearing media, like data, sound or video, all brought together through interactivity.
Where do you show and sell your work?
Well, I have been in exhibitions across the UK, USA, France and Germany, but currently my practice is more about residences or commissions than selling individual pieces, although perhaps I will return to that in the future.
Do you have a career highlight?
I have two highlights really – the first was when 1.5 Degrees of Concern was longlisted for the prestigious art and technology Lumen Prize. It was an unexpected pleasure as the piece is quite low-tech and tangible, with its handcrafted glass and hacked books, compared to other solely digital entries. Also, when Infinity in Our Hands, the other project made with the same artistic collaborators, Kristine Diekman from the US and Lisa Mansfield from Australia, was shown at the Hirshhorn Museum in Washington in 2024 and then in the UK last Summer. It was amazing to partner with NASA, and astronomers Nicolas Bonne and James Trayford, from the University of Portsmouth, in creating this interactive glass and sound installation about the life cycle of stars. Audio was created from light waves from astral bodies and I developed the glass forms from models originally created by Nic Bonne to enable visually impaired people to access astrophysical data through touch.
‘1.5 Degrees of Concern’ by Liz Waugh McManus, Kristine Diekman and Lisa Mansfield. It features cast glass, glass cyanotypes, hacked books, natural objects and touch-interactive audio. Photo: K. Diekman.
Where is your creative practice heading next?
Work in progress on salt marsh textures made from cast glass. Photo: L. Waugh McManus.
I am working on a project begun about three years ago again, a collaboration with my son, who is a video designer. We used a drone to map an area of salt marsh in Suffolk that I fell in love with during the pandemic and used photogrammetry to create glass casts. These will ultimately be part of an installation featuring glass and projection. I have made artwork inspired by the local waterways and coast around me for about five years. Suffolk’s coastline is always eroding and, last year, I was commissioned to make New Every Morning, which showcases the versatility of glass to represent different forms and concepts of fragility, life, decay and renewal. Crafted glass was woven with mixed media onto a loom displayed in a large store window. It included foraged natural objects, recycled items, plastic marine litter and wire footprints that triggered audio compositions evoking local sites.
Top section of ‘New Every Morning’ installation, featuring Cast glass, mixed media, foraged objects and touch-interactive audio. Photo: L. Waugh McManus.
And finally…
It may sound like I prefer digital technologies, but, at heart, I love making things by hand and am fascinated by materials. When I did a residency at Groundwork environmental art gallery in King’s Lynn, where much of England’s glass industry sources its sand, I focused on silica. I realised that since I bought ready-made cullet, I knew little about the base material, so, with reference to archaeology on medieval forest glassmakers’ recipes and some advice from technicians at the University of Sheffield, I undertook some experiments making glass. Although I often work alone in the studio, I get excited by collaboration with artists, experts in other fields and community organisations.
Find out more about Liz Waugh McManus via her website www.lizwaughmcmanus.co.uk or follow her on Instagram @lizwaughmcmanus
Main feature image: Infinity in Our Hands at The Art Station (by Liz Waugh McManus, Kristine Diekman, Lisa Mansfield). Photo: Doug Atfield.
Schools across the UK are invited to take part in a free creative competition for pupils of all ages that will see three winning children’s drawings made into unique pieces of glass art by glass artist Allister Malcolm and his team in Stourbridge, West Midlands.
This year’s competition has the theme Under the Sea and is generously supported by The Worshipful Company of Glass Sellers and delivered in partnership with Allister Malcolm Glass Ltd and Stourbridge Glass Museum.
Pupils are invited to create and submit a doodle of their favourite under-sea creature.
As well as the winners having their designs made in glass there will be cash prizes awarded to the winning schools: 1st Prize: £250; 2nd Prize: £150; 3rd Prize: £100.
The winning designs will be made in glass at Stourbridge Glass Museum on Saturday 22 August, as part of the Celebration of Glass Festival.
The winning and shortlisted entries will be displayed at the museum before the final artworks are awarded to the winning schools.
Teachers can download a PowerPoint and PDF of image resources to help introduce the theme and spark pupils’ imagination.
How to enter:
A4 paper (portrait or landscape)
Any non-digital medium
Include pupil details, school, and a short description of the design.
Entries should be posted to: Stourbridge Glass Museum, Stuart Works, High Street, Wordsley, DY8 4FB by the deadline: 5:00 pm, Wednesday 1 July 2026.
Find out more and download the resources via this link.
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