Following the announcement in January 2023 that the iconic National Glass Centre (NGC) in Sunderland cannot continue in its present venue because it needs expensive remedial structural work, campaigners have been working to get support to keep the NGC in its current riverside location.
The University of Sunderland has owned the NGC since 2010 and wants to find an alternative venue – or venues – for the NGC. The Northern Gallery of Contemporary Art (NGCA) and the University’s glass and ceramics academic programmes are also housed on the site.
Current courses are continuing as usual and the University stated in January that it hoped to transfer to a new location – or locations – within three years.
Campaigner Caroline Basing is an MA graduate of the University, who has a studio space at the NGC. She states, “The NGC offers so many different levels of experiences in glass for so many different people, from exhibitions to public engagement, such as bauble making, to making facilities for international artists. While some efforts are being made by Sunderland Council and Sunderland Culture to split and relocate some parts of the organisation, no guarantees have been made to retain any of the many and varied functions of the NGC. Its loss will collapse the whole creative ecosystem that surrounds it, causing economic, educational, cultural and societal damage, not just to the local area, but also the creative industries based on making in glass.”
A petition to raise awareness and keep the NGC and its facilities in the present building has now reached almost 32,000 signatures. Anyone interested in finding out more and signing the petition can follow this link.
As part of the Glass Festival at The World of Glass (TWOG), three glass artists will be speaking about their creative processes and working journeys at the recently upgraded venue in St Helen’s, on Saturday 11 November 2023.
Join Kathryn Webley, Annette Sharkey and James Maskrey for their presentations between 1pm and 4pm. Tickets cost £5.
Kathryn Webley’s talk is entitled ‘Glass from the Cut’. She creates her work on a narrowboat called ‘The Pod’, moored in Worksop, Nottinghamshire on the Chesterfield Canal. When she started living on the canals, she became fascinated by the patterns and reflections in the water and the associated flora of the canal bank. She will talk about the unique challenges of working with glass on a narrowboat.
Annette Sharkey’s presentation is ‘Glass – the Possibilities are Endless’. Her main inspiration is glass itself and its many different facets – reflection, transparency, shadow, opalescence, depth, colour. Having started out with stained glass and glass mosaic, she now focuses on warm glass. Her talk will walk the audience through some of the pieces she has made and the techniques and inspirations behind them.
James Maskrey will speak on the theme ‘Discovery: A journey through a Creative Career’. His glassmaking career spans over 30 years, over 20 of those working for the University of Sunderland at the National Glass Centre (NGC) as a senior technician and academic tutor.
He has facilitated work for many other artists and in 2022 completed a 15-month secondment to the NGC where he was responsible for the hot glass production of Glass Exchange, an ambitious four-artist facilitation project with Ryan Gander, Katie Paterson, Monster Chetwynd and Pascale Marthine Tayoux. He has led masterclasses in different countries and his work is in public and private collections. His talk will follow his creative journey from his first encounter with hot glass through to the present day.
There will be opportunities for questions after each talk.
For the third year, the Alexander Tutsek-Stiftung foundation will award up to 10 scholarships to participate in a workshop at the International Summer Academy at Bild-Werk Frauenau in Germany, in 2024.
The scholarships are €2,200 each and will be awarded to artists who have graduated from an art academy or completed their artistic training at a glass school or technical college within the last five years. There is no age restriction.
The workshops in Frauenau are led by internationally renowned artists and enable the fellows to expand their professional knowledge and develop artistically. The focus is on working with hot and cold glass, complemented by traditional and new design methods.
The scholarship enables the artists to experiment with glass and to develop and realise their own designs within the framework of the course.
Bild-Werk Frauenau is located in the Bavarian Forest and is one of the most important international forums for glass and visual arts.
The 2024 Summer Academy programme will be published on the Bild-Werk Frauenau website on 13 November 2023.
Application deadline is 26 November 2023 and applicants will be informed whether they have been awarded a scholarship by 24 December 2023. Successful applicants must register for a course directly with Bild-Werk Frauenau by 14 February 2024.
The Alexander Tutsek-Stiftung promotes art and science. It was established in 2000 by the entrepreneur Alexander Tutsek and his wife Dr. Eva-Maria Fahrner-Tutsek as a non-profit foundation.
Members of the Contemporary Glass Society (CGS) are invited to submit glass work for the first CGS exhibition of 2024 – ‘Sparkle! A Spectrum of Contemporary Glass’ exhibition, taking place at Black Swan Arts in Frome, Somerset.
The exhibition will run from 19 January to 25 February 2024 in the centre’s Long Gallery. It is open to all CGS members at any stage of their career, but with an emphasis on CGS South West and Midlands members.
Celebrate the dazzling delight of glass in all its facets of light, colour and technique. The brief is as wide as you wish to make it and will be a true celebration of the diversity of contemporary glass. All work submitted must be for sale and both wall pieces and plinth-based work are accepted.
Artists can submit up to three pieces of work in one submission. Although this is an open exhibition, it may be necessary to select only some of an artist’s pieces for inclusion in the final show, subject to the number of applications and the size and quantity of entries.
All work must comprise at least 50% glass and to have been made after January 2022 or made specifically for the exhibition.
A non-refundable administration fee of £25 will be charged per application.
Application deadline: 19 November 2023.
Black Swan Arts is at 2 Bridge Street, Frome, Somerset BA11 1BB.
If you would like to take part in the Sparkle exhibition, but are not yet a member of CGS, why not join now?
Find out more about the exhibition and apply here.
Berlin Glas in Germany is looking for donations to keep its mobile glass fusing programme running for children aged 8-18. The studio has worked with schools, youth organisations, and refugee homes across Berlin.
The children are taught how to decorate a glass plate with layers of coloured glass that are then fired overnight at 780°C and turned into a colourful artwork.
However, sometimes accessibility has been a problem. In January 2017, a refugee home in Bernau, a suburb of Berlin, asked whether Berlin Glas could bring the materials to their facility. The team found an old suitcase, filled it with what was needed, and went to the refugee home. The workshop was so successful, that they decided to build a cart, lovingly named the Kiez Mobil.
The Kiez Mobil project has been underway since October 2017 and the goal is to offer two workshops a month. This requires a stock of clear and coloured glass, new cutters and tubs for storing glass, the energy costs for the kiln, subway and bus tickets for the instructors, and the instructor’s fee.
Berlin Glas is inviting donations so that children can continue to have this unique opportunity to work with glass.
Anyone interested in finding out more about the campaign and wanting to donate, please visit the Betterplace website.
Sunderland’s place in the international network of artists working in glass is celebrated in a new exhibition at National Glass Centre (NGC), called ‘Glass World’.
The exhibition presents a range of objects created by artists from, or based, in countries ranging from Canada to New Zealand and Argentina to Japan.
Many of the exhibits have been made at NGC by international visiting artists, academics and graduates from University of Sunderland who have gone on to work in other countries.
Julia Stephenson, Head of Arts at NGC, said, “We’re delighted to be presenting an exhibition of work created by glass artists from such a wide range of countries. Many of the pieces have been created here in Sunderland, or the artists involved will have a connection with NGC.
“Glass World reflects NGC’s place within the global glass community and our networks. The exhibition is about internationalism rather than nationalism, so work is being shown in relation to the country where the artist’s practice has had the greatest influence, rather than just their country of birth or current residence.
“Some of the artists have strong connections with two or three countries – or even continents. For instance, Sam Herman was a pioneer of the Studio Glass movement in the United States, Britain and Australia and directly and indirectly influenced many of the next generation of artists working in glass.”
The artworks on display come from NGC’s own collection and many pieces reflect the characteristics of the glass produced in particular countries.
Julia explained, “There are geographic distinctions, such as the work of Göran Wärff of Sweden and Oiva Toikka of Finland, who both designed for production rather than focusing on one-off pieces – an established approach in both countries.
“Martin Janecký’s skill in sculpting hot glass reflects the Czech investment in glass education from an early age, while the pieces by Archimede Seguso stand as a monument to the skills in hot glass handed down over centuries on the island of Murano in Italy.”
Glass World is one of three exhibitions currently showing at NGC. The other two are The Bernard Lloyd Collection (some of which is included in Glass World) and a collection of work from University of Sunderland graduate Hassina Khan.
All three exhibitions are free and will be on display at NGC until 10 March 2024.
National Glass Centre (NGC) is at Liberty Way, Sunderland, SR6 0GL, UK. For more information visit the website.
Image: Dale Chihuly’s ‘Blue Sea Form’ (1990) from the Bernard Lloyd Collection. Photo: David Williams
Applications are now open for glass artists to enter their work for the prestigious New Glass Review 44 – the flagship annual publication of The Corning Museum of Glass in the US. Anyone from a beginning student to an established artist can submit.
Most years, around 1,000 submissions are received from artists, designers and organisations in more than 50 countries. These submissions are reviewed by a panel of curators, scholars, and artists, led by Corning’s curator of post war and contemporary glass, or a guest curator. Untimately, 100 images are selected for publication.
New Glass Review grew out of a ground-breaking 1975 meeting with early leaders in studio glass who saw that this thriving field required a place of encounter, a place to discover the work of other artists, designers, collectors, museums and enthusiasts. Four years later, after the exhibition ‘New Glass: A Worldwide Survey’ brought studio glass to people across the US and Europe, New Glass Review was founded.
According to Corning what appears in New Glass Review is not what is ‘best’ in glass in a given year. Instead, it is a collection of works, chosen by individuals from across the world of glass, arranged to spark new ways to see and think about this material and the people who use it expressively.
Alongside the 100 selected images, the magazine includes essays from the selectors, a feature on the Museum’s Rakow Commission recipient, plus a review of recent acquisitions by museums worldwide.
Submitted work must have been made over the past year. The submission deadline is 3 January 2024.
As part of efforts to secure the future of stained glass a new apprenticeship scheme has been launched in Wales. The first block of stained glass apprenticeship training will take place at University of Wales Trinity St David (UWTSD) Swansea on 20-23 November 2023.
This will be followed on 24 November by a stained glass symposium, led by UWTSD Research Fellow Martin Crampin, entitled ‘Capturing a Moment: Swansea Stained Glass Archives’, and the official launch of the Stained Glass Craftsperson Apprenticeship Programme.
On the morning of 25 November there will be an opportunity to visit Coychurch Crematorium to view the stained glass discussed in the symposium.
UWTSD is at Alex Design Exchange, Alexandra Road, Swansea SA1 5DU, Wales.
Follow the links for further information and tickets:
Canadian glass artist Susan Rankin draws inspiration from the landscape where she lives, contrasting tall pillars of bright coloured glass for exterior settings with vases covered in voluptuous, curving flowers, perfect for interiors. Linda Banks finds out more.
What led you to start working with glass?
I started out in stained glass back in the late 1970s. I went to Pilchuck Glass Schook in 1984 to do a fusing workshop with Klaus Moje and began a journey in fusing. I ran a stained glass shop and studio, working on church window commissions and restorations and teaching stained glass classes for a number of years.
I returned to Pilchuck in 1987 to take my first glass blowing class with Flora Mace and Joey Kirpatrick. I met several Canadians who were at that session and Laura Donefer invited me to stay with her in Toronto to attend Sheridan College and continue my glass blowing education. After graduating I received a three-year residency in the Glass Studio at Harbourfront Centre in downtown Toronto. I also continued learning by attending summer workshops every other year at Pilchuck, Haystack Mountain School of Craft and Penland School of Craft. I set up my own glass blowing studio in1995 with studio partner Brad Copping.
Life and movement are captured in the flowers in these ‘Sprigs’. Photo by the artist
What glass techniques have you used and which do you prefer?
Over the years I have worked with many different techniques in glass but I am a glass blower at heart and continue working with hot glass going into my third decade. I also work on the bench torch, making components with flame working techniques. I have taught glass blowing for the past 18 years at Fleming College Haliburton School of the Arts in the Glass Blowing Certificate Programme.
Susan at work in her studio creating a ‘Sprig’ floral piece. Photo: David Smith
What is your creative approach? Do you draw your ideas out or dive straight in with the materials?
I work with the material. I sometimes work on a maquette for larger works and I do work out colour in a digital sketch process.
A Grove of seven pieces in blues and green makes a statement in the landscape. Photo by the artist
You work in different styles – from simple, but effective, coloured discs in your outdoor sculptures to highly detailed, naturalistic flowers on your vases. What message(s) do you want to convey through your art?
Through the past 30 years as a glass artist, I have explored the idea of garden through my work. The most recent projects continue this exploration, but the focus is now on developing sculptural glass objects to adorn the gardens and outdoor spaces that have been my source of inspiration for so long. We are all constantly surrounded by something. The landscape that surrounds us shapes us and influences us as we function within it. I live in a hard wood forest on the edge of the Canadian Precambrian Shield. The change in this landscape from season to season has inspired me to examine how the glass columns can evoke a new sense of space, by enlarging the groupings of columns to evoke the feeling of forest or grove. I have worked with scale to create a presence; they demand that observers engage with them in a more physical and direct way. Using numerous columns to define a space, I incorporate light through the multiple transparent or opaque glass elements. Drawing on natural and abstracted forms I have created a series of work that is harmonious and compelling through the seasons. Light is the critical element for glass in both indoor and outdoor settings. The shifting movement of the light throughout the day illuminates the beauty of the glass elements, creating moments when it appears that the colour itself sings and that colour is commanding the space. When lit at night, the columns take on a dramatic, jewel-like quality. The illumination of the coloured shafts is reminiscent of coloured lights reflecting off the surface of water at night with a slight ripple. This integration of light and object is something that I have been exploring throughout my work with sculptural forms.
With the ‘Flower Vase’ series I sought to examine how glass has been used historically and how I could bring it forward in a contemporary way to adorn the home. My latest project extends this exploration to the ‘Large Flower Vase’ pieces. When I think of gardens, I think of something larger than life. They are a physically manipulated, living space that can not only surround you, but also overpower you. These ideas have fed into the new blown vessels as they take on a larger, more voluptuous form. These pieces capture the beauty of the blooming on vessels, which reference historic forms that have evolved with a contemporary style.
One of the Large Flower Vase series, this smokey grey vase features Cala lilies. It is blown and solid worked glass, with a sandblasted surface. Photo by the artist
Botanicals and flowers have long been a source of inspiration for adorning the body in a jewellery format. I have been exploring this idea on a larger scale and refer to this new series as ‘Wall Brooches’. Holding the light, the glass contrasts with the airiness of the wire form, playing on the idea of reversing the density of steel and the translucency of glass. The shadow cast by the wire form also speaks of transparency and the movement of light, while the glass holds the colour and brilliance of the blossom in the moment.
Wire and glass are combined in this collection of ‘Wall Brooches’. Photo by the artist‘Memories’. A detail of one of the Wall Brooches. Photo by the artist
What is your favourite tool or piece of equipment and why?
My favourite tool is my small pair of Carlo Dona tweezers because they are good for oh so many things!
Do you have a favourite piece you have made? Why is it your favourite?
Whatever I am currently working on is my favourite, because I am creating.
Where do you show and sell your work?
I primarily show and sell my work through galleries or art consultants. Increasingly, I am working with landscape designers. I am also contacted through my website.
This Flowering Vine vessel features a 23k gold lining. Photo by the artist
What advice would you give to someone starting out on a career in glass?
Just do what it takes to make… Take lots of workshops; there is so much that can be done and you never stop learning. You have to keep your hand in it … Time makes you better.
Sage green vase with 12 soft blue flowers, comprising blown and solid worked glass and a sandblasted surface. Photo by the artist
Do you have a career highlight?
In 2022, I installed seven Groves in the garden of a new wing of the Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale, Arizona. This was a large, complex project and I worked with an art design consulting firm for the donor who gifted the Groves to the space.
Before that, I had a 25-year retrospective travelling show that toured across Canada, called ‘Susan Rankin: Valid Objects of Beauty’. I began at the Moose Jaw Museum and Art gallery in 2009 and finished in Whitby, Ontario, at the Station Gallery in 2013.
Where is your glass practice heading next?
I continue to make and will see where the journey takes me.
About the artist
Susan Rankin with one of her Grove installations. Photo: David Smith
Susan Rankin lives and works from her home in Apsley, Ontario, Canada. She graduated with honours from Sheridan College, Oakville Ontario in 1989.
Susan’s towering columns and lively, voluptuous vessels wrapped in vines, leaves and flowers, have been shown in 34 solo exhibitions and numerous invitational and group exhibitions across North America at prestigious venues for contemporary glass. Her work is in public collections at the Corning Museum of Glass, Claridge Collection, Michel-Pierre Grenier Collection, Saskatchewan Arts Board, Winnipeg Art Gallery, USB Bank (Canada), Department of Foreign Affairs, Musee des beaux-arts de Montreal, Quebec, Glazen Huis, Flemish Centre for Contemporary Glass Art, Lommel, Belgium, as well as in private collections.
Glass bead artists can now apply for the International Glass Bead Biennale 2024. This is a sister exhibition to the British Glass Biennale and both exhibitions are part of the International Festival of Glass – a major highlight of the UK contemporary glass calendar.
The juried show is open to artists, designers, craftspeople and students of all nationalities worldwide who create beads where glass is the key design element. All glassmaking techniques are welcome, as long as the piece conforms to the concept of a bead.
Criteria for submission:
Each artist may submit up to three individual beads. Each bead must be predominantly made of glass but may incorporate other materials
All work must be available for purchase and made since 1 March 2022
The bead must not exceed 10cm x 8cm in size but can be mounted, for example as a piece of jewellery
Each bead must have a hole (not just a loop.
The application fee is £10.
Awards:
International Bead Biennale Award for Best in Show £350
International Bead Biennale Award Runner Up £150
International Bead Biennale Award Runner Up £100
The International Bead Biennale jury will select the award winners.
The prizes are sponsored by Barbara Beadman MBE.
The deadline for entries is midnight on Sunday 25 February 2024.
The Jury comprises: Will Farmer (director, Fieldings Auctioneers and Ceramic and Glass Specialist on BBC TV’s Antiques Roadshow); Carole Morris (founder, editor and secretary of the Bead Society of Great Britain); Pam Reekie (administrator, Contemporary Glass Society), and Matt Durran (exhibition curator).
The International Glass Bead Biennale opens on 23 August 2024 and closes on 28 September 2024.
This will be the last International Festival of Glass and International Glass Bead Biennale hosted by the Ruskin Mill Land Trust at The Glasshouse in Stourbridge. The Glass Art Society will take over responsibility for the exhibition after 2024.
Address: International Glass Bead Biennale, The Glasshouse, Wollaston Road, Amblecote, Stourbridge, West Midlands DY8 4HF.
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