Among the 22 grants awarded in the latest round of awards from the Queen Elizabeth Scholarship Trust (QEST) are two scholarships for glass artists Theo Brooks and Karlyn Sutherland.
Theo Brooks is the 2025 QEST Adrian Blundell Scholar. With support from QEST, he will undertake four advanced courses to refine his hot glass techniques: chandelier making with Fabiano Zanchi, ‘Trick Cups’ with Marc Barreda at The Glass Hub, ‘Sculpting Inside the Bubble’ with Martin Janecký, and a specialist class with Jason Christian and Aya Oki at Tulsa Glassblowing School. These experiences will build his skills in hot sculpting, pattern making, and Venetian techniques, enabling him to develop a new body of sculptural work inspired by his Cypriot heritage and south London roots.
Theo first discovered glass while studying Three-Dimensional Design at UCA Farnham. He went on to work in several UK studios before apprenticing with maestro Simon Moore in hot glass, and later in Paris, France, with Philip Baldwin and Monica Guggisberg in glass cutting. He has since studied for an MFA at Bowling Green State University in the US, held a studio technician role at Temple University in Philadelphia, and exhibited internationally across Europe, the USA, and China. Theo’s practice reimagines ancient Cypriot artefacts in contemporary forms, using the fluidity of glass to explore cultural identity.
Speaking about the award, Theo commented, “Hot glass is unlike any other medium. Its extreme temperatures, radiating heat and glow, combined with its translucency and refractive qualities, give you a world of opportunities to explore. I am lucky to be able to use this material to translate aspects of my cultures. Through QEST, I hope this broadens my ideas and skill sets to continue pushing my practice.”
Karlyn Sutherland receives a QEST Scholarship to advance her kiln-formed glass skills.
Karlyn works primarily with kiln-formed, fused glass. Her practice explores the connection between hand-making and a human sense of place, particularly how light, shadow and atmosphere influence experience and memories of a space. For Karlyn, making is a contemplative process, an essential tool in exploring and strengthening her own relationship with, and understanding of, place.
Drawn to the material for its ability to hold and transform light, Karlyn uses layered planes of translucent, semi-translucent and opaque sheet glass to create subtle optical illusions that suggest depth, folds and surface shifts. Her current series includes wall pieces and furniture prototypes, each one meticulously hand-cut, assembled and kiln-fused. Once cooled, the glass is shaped using hand-held grinding tools and finished by hand on a lapping plate with specialist abrasives to achieve its final surface.
QEST funding will support Karlyn to undertake a short course titled ‘Essence’ and one-to-one training with Jessica Loughlin, an internationally recognised artist known for her minimalist aesthetic and focus on light. Both opportunities will deepen Karlyn’s technical and conceptual approach to kiln-formed glass.
Wall art made by Karlyn Sutherland.
Karlyn explained, “Much of my existing glass-making knowledge and skills have been acquired on an ad hoc basis, and, though they’ve served me well, I feel that I have taken them as far as I can within my current practice. I’m extremely grateful to have received a QEST Scholarship – it’s an invaluable opportunity to gain highly-specific experience and knowledge that will allow me to really push my work forwards in new directions.”
These and all the other grants are made possible through the generous support of QEST’s donors – Trusts and Foundations, Liveries, Royal Warrant-holding companies, organisations, and individuals.
The next QEST grant round is open now and closes on 13 August. Grants are available for education and training, with Scholarships up to £18,000, Emerging Maker grants of up to £10,000, and up to £12,000 towards an apprentice’s salary.
All UK school-age children are invited to draw a doodle in a free competition that will see the winning entry transformed into a glass artwork.
This year’s theme is ‘wild UK plant life and fungi’. The winning picture will be recreated in glass by renowned artist Allister Malcolm, in a live event at Stourbridge Glass Museum on 23 August 2025.
The competition is a partnership between The Worshipful Company of Glass Sellers, Allister Malcolm Glass and Stourbridge Glass Museum.
The Museum states, “Last year’s entries were truly inspiring, and we look forward to seeing even more brilliant designs this year.”
The deadline for submissions is 5pm on Monday 21 July 2025.
The winner and runner-up artworks will be displayed at Stourbridge Glass Museum before the winning piece is sent to the child’s school for display.
Stourbridge Glass Museum’s new exhibition, ‘Strike a Match’, celebrates the dynamic collaboration and individual expressions of glassblowing artists Elliot Walker and Bethany Wood. With nearly three decades of combined experience, the pair began their shared journey nearly 10 years ago in a Stourbridge studio. Their partnership has since taken them across various locations, ultimately returning to the iconic Red House Glass Cone in the heart of the Black Country – a site rich in glassmaking history.
This exhibition is both a tribute to their shared practice and an exploration of their distinctive artistic voices. From early collaborations to evolved solo works, Strike a Match showcases a broad spectrum of glassmaking techniques, including intricately sculpted still lifes, conceptual installations, and luminous molten paintings. The result is a vibrant reflection of two artists united by craft, vision, and a deep respect for material.
The exhibition is on from 21 June – 8 November 2025.
The theme for the Institute of Conservation (ICON) Stained Glass Group’s 2025 conference is ‘Removed, Remodelled, Relocated: The movement of stained glass from its original setting to places new’.
Scheduled for Friday 3 and Saturday 4 October 2025, at Cantebury Catherdral Lodge in the UK, the meeting comprises two days of lectures and discussions on this theme, plus a guided tour of the Cathedral and conservation studios. Members and non-members are welcome to attend.
The movement of stained glass from its original setting to places new is not a recent phenomenon. Stained glass windows have been bought, sold, shipped, traded, copied, and counterfeited for centuries. However, the upswing in the closure of historic buildings and places of worship has led to an increased risk to stained glass both in the UK and worldwide. Where windows are not lost entirely, they are being dismantled, reworked, resold, and relocated. Though often ensuring their continued existence, these interventions have far-reaching implications for the stained glass pieces involved. Their condition, context, historical significance, and inherent meaning are all susceptible to change.
Esteemed professionals from all over the world – including the UK, Europe, America and Japan – will discuss the challenges, solutions, and opportunities presented by these situations for medieval, modern, and composite stained glass in a series of lectures.
Early bird tickets are available now until 18 July 2025 at 5pm. Ticket price includes the £18 entrance fee to the Cathedral Precincts and Cathedral building.
There is also a Stained Glass Group Buffet Dinner and Quiz on the Friday night for £30 extra, providing a fun evening and chance to network.
Recent finalist in the prestigious Loewe Foundation Craft Prize 2025, Australian contemporary glass master Scott Chaseling explains his process and inspirations.
My path into the world of glass began unexpectedly. Fresh out of art school with a sculpture degree, I found myself unemployed. It was during this period of uncertainty that a chance encounter with a fellow graduate changed everything. He mentioned securing a traineeship at Adelaide’s Jam Factory Craft and Design Centre. Intrigued, yet operating in a pre-internet era with little concrete knowledge of the medium, I applied. It was a leap into the unknown. What started as a practical response to unemployment became a profound, lifelong engagement with a material possessing unique properties of light, form, and transformation.
‘Delicate Delicious’ features a range of glass techniques.
My practice has never settled on a single technique. I’ve explored the painterly discipline of reverse glass painting, the layered construction of fusing, the dynamic physicality of glassblowing, and the precise refinement of cold work. Each offers distinct possibilities. My current work synthesises these methods: reverse paintings form the conceptual and visual core; fused layers build the structural and narrative foundation; blown elements introduce volume and presence; cold work provides the final articulation. An area yet unexplored is lead lighting – its interplay of structure and coloured light holds significant appeal and is a planned focus for the coming year.
Overhanging glass strips have a feel of modelling clay on this piece, ‘Dance Like All’s Watching’.
My creative process is methodical, beginning with drawing for the reverse glass painting. This phase demands careful planning, as the image must be conceived and executed in reverse – a necessary mental and technical discipline. Once the painted narrative is complete and sealed beneath the glass, the physical construction of the supporting tile begins. This stage builds upon the initial imagery, adding layers of meaning and form. Finally, to emphasise the overall composition and narrative, I incorporate sculpted additions. These elements are applied towards the end, serving as deliberate counterpoints and accents to the primary form.
A series of reverse-painted glass tiles with patterned additions on top, ready for forming into 3D vessels.
Above all, I aim to convey ‘joy’. If a piece elicits a smile, a moment of delight, or a sense of uncomplicated pleasure in the viewer, I consider it successful. In a complex world, the capacity of crafted objects to evoke simple, positive emotion feels increasingly significant. My work is an invitation to experience that lightness and visual pleasure.
‘The Thinker Over-thinking’ features a reverse-painted figure and sculptural addition.
Tools are extensions of intent. When blowing glass directly from the furnace, a pad of wet newspaper remains indispensable. Its humble nature belies its remarkable versatility: it shapes, cools, and protects the molten material with immediate responsiveness. Conversely, when initiating a piece through reverse painting, the paintbrush becomes paramount. It is the primary instrument for translating the initial vision onto the glass surface, each stroke laying the groundwork for the entire piece.
‘Wavy Gravy Train’ stands about 20cm high.
Favourite pieces are often tied to moments of discovery. Currently, that distinction belongs to a small pot, the first successful outcome in developing a new series. Its emergence felt less like a predetermined result and more like a rewarding convergence of intention, material, and process. It embodies the satisfaction of finding a solution through making and retains the spark of its unexpected success.
‘Lush Lingers Longer’ is a combination of reverse painting and added sculptural elements.
My work primarily reaches audiences through artist-run exhibitions and selected competitions. These platforms foster direct engagement and dialogue within the craft community. While I am currently unrepresented by a commercial gallery, these avenues provide vital visibility and connection.
‘Black Teeth Smile’ features sandwiched fused glass additions.
A recent significant milestone was participation in the Loewe Foundation Craft Prize in Madrid. The experience stands out due to the Foundation’s profound respect for the makers. The organisers’ deep understanding of craft as a rigorous, professional discipline, and the exceptional level of curation, made it deeply validating. It was a meaningful recognition on an international stage.
Looking forward, the core of my practice remains constant: to keep making. This is the essential priority. The studio is where exploration happens – whether integrating lead lighting, refining existing techniques or discovering new combinations. The direction emerges organically from the process itself, driven by continuous engagement with the material and the evolving ideas it inspires. The work continues.
Scott Chaseling working in the studio.
Find out more and follow Scott Chaseling via Instagram: @scottchaseling
Main feature image: ‘Cost Curl’ features reverse painting and fused, blown and etched glass. All photos courtesy of the artist.
Katharine Coleman MBE, revered glass engraver and member of the Contemporary Glass Society’s (CGS) board, shows us how much the art world has changed since the organisation was established and puts the case for greater collaboration with glass artists from across the European continent.
Hooray! This year the CGS New Graduate Review magazine will invite applications from glass course graduates at colleges throughout Europe for the first time. As a CGS board member I am delighted that CGS is now looking farther afield for members and participants in its many activities – maybe soon even beyond the constraints of geographical Europe.
Looking back
When CGS was founded 28 years ago, mobile phones were in their infancy and if one submitted an image to a gallery or exhibition, it had to be as a 35mm slide or transparency (see the picture, for the very young!)
Photographic slides were once the only way to submit work to a gallery or exhibition. Photo: Katharine Coleman.
Seeing others’ work was limited to visiting exhibitions and obtaining access to printed material. A duplicate slide cost some £10 to £15. Galleries seldom returned them. Conferences were particularly popular as it gave so many of us a chance to see a wider range of other artists’ work. Conference talks were peppered with interruptions caused by clattering slides falling out of the projector, or slides accidentally being placed in the carousel upside down – the subject of great frustration and much merriment.
It was hard to show work in galleries if one didn’t have a degree from a university glass course or images to show the gallery. It was expensive to send galleries slides speculatively, so first I would ring them to ask if they would like to see my glass. The conversation would go as follows: “Oh hello, I wonder if you would be interested in showing or selling my work?”; “Well, possibly, who are you?”; “Katharine Coleman”; “Never heard of you or seen your work. Were you at the Royal College?”; “No.”; “Any other glass courses? Which college?”; “Morley College.”; “Never heard of it – what sort of work do you do?”; “I’m a glass engraver.” At that point the phone went down – EVERYWHERE – except at Art in Action, near Waterperry, Oxfordshire. My lucky break came when I was shortlisted for the 2003 Jerwood Prize for Glass. Few of us had such lucky breaks.
Without Facebook or Instagram to promote our work, and without online banking, it was very tough selling work too! Hiring a MEPOS ‘card swiper’ cost over £500 for a week at Chelsea Craft Fair or Art in Action. Banking was a headache and insurance was expensive.
Now, in 2025, we have more of a chance with our images – wonderful, digital imagery, with the concomitant joys of Adobe for cropping, correcting blur, contrast and faulty focus, superb camera lighting and easy, free internet for sending images all over the world. There is now such a gulf between that age of slides and print and our age of digital images, PowerPoint, the internet, Facebook, Instagram and Zoom.
This gulf is occasionally apparent when work alarmingly like that of the 1990s appears in international exhibitions (as happened at the last Coburg Prize for Contemporary Glass), with jurists sufficiently young that they are not familiar with pre-digital images and reference books on glass from the previous two decades are seldom consulted. Helen Maurer won the Jerwood Prize: Glass in 2003 with glass objects placed on an overhead projector to produce magical scenes above them. Then the Third Prize at Coburg in 2022 went to an artist placing glass on overhead projectors with the images thrown onto the wall behind them. But we should agree that all things are cyclical.
Back in the day, the printed CGS Glass Network journals and the chance to attend conferences made the world of contemporary glass accessible to us new faces. At its first conference at Wolverhampton University, there was a debate about whom the CGS would be for. A well-established glass artist stood up and declared, “We want this society to be for professionals and not all these aspiring artists who are such a pain!” This comment made me shrink with shame as an aspiring artist myself. Thankfully that idea was not taken up. These early conferences were held alongside selected exhibitions and were very well attended.
Now, the expense of taking part in CGS activities is spread more lightly and fairly, with digital imagery, online exhibitions and talks. The double whammy of CGS losing its Arts Council grant in 2012, together with the ever-increasing postage rates, undermined the frequent production of the printed catalogues and membership growth slowed. However, we were saved by the CGS website and, later, the wonderful CGS Zooms that kept us in touch and diverted with regular talks through the miserable years of COVID-19, that helped raise membership numbers. With access to Zoom, meetings no longer require committee members to travel to London at great time and expense. In addition, members can submit images for most exhibitions at no expense, making participation in CGS affordable for all, and the internet has opened up a wider world generally.
Collaboration across Europe
Contact with other European glass artists is vital for the exchange of ideas and technical advice. Many CGS members have attended courses at the Summer Academies at Bild-Werk Frauenau in Bavaria, either as teachers or as students and, through this melting pot, we have made many contacts and firm friends outside the UK. Other CGS members have participated in the Coburg, and other, glass prizes, or shown their work in galleries in the Netherlands and France, though these are fewer in number. Each of these brings the opportunity to extend the network that CGS provides. There is a Dutch glass society, but here in the UK I believe we are the envy of most European artists for the support and stimulation that come from membership of CGS.
Bild-Werk Frauenau Summer Academy 2012, celebrating 25 years of the school. Photo: Katharine Coleman.
The decline in numbers of glass courses at universities here in the UK over the last 15 years alongside the decline of student numbers at glass colleges in mainland Europe is becoming seriously worrying. Minority crafts, such as glass engraving, are shrinking so fast that wheel engraving is now on the Heritage Crafts Red List of Endangered Crafts.
Main door of the Escuela de Los Vidrios de San Ildefonso de la Granja, Segovia, a photo taken in 2007 when teaching a summer school. Photo: Katharine Coleman.
I teach short courses occasionally at Corning Museum of Glass in the US, at Bild-Werk Frauenau and at the glass school at La Granja, near Segovia in Spain. It helps to speak both languages well enough to teach, especially in Spain, where the students have little to no English.
The Museum of Glass at San Ildefonso de La Granja, Segovia, was built as the original La Granja Glass Factory in the 18th century to provide window, table and chandelier glass for the new royal summer palace up in the Guadalajara Mountains, as the location was too high to transport glass to by mule. The factory was disguised as a monastery, with the furnaces under the ‘chapel’ dome. Photo: Katharine Coleman (2007).
In 2013 three of us glass engravers met at Bild-Werk Frauenau (Wilhelm Vernim, Norbert Kalthoff and I) and we were bemoaning the shrinking number of engraving students and classes in glass colleges throughout Europe. We decided to do something about it and invited engravers, teachers and gallerists from Germany, Czechia, the Netherlands, Belgium, France, UK, Poland, Estonia, Romania and Finland to a meeting at Bild-Werk that same autumn. This resulted in the formation of a Facebook-based international collective, called the Glass Engraving Network.
September 2013 – the beginnings of the Glass Engraving Network. Photo: Katharine Coleman.
Without a committee, anyone in the network can organise an exhibition. Our first, in 2015, was ‘Gravur on Tour’, a selected touring exhibition of glass museums, which was small enough to pack into a large white hire van that was unpacked and supervised by a group of the participating engravers in each host country: UK (Stourbridge), Belgium (Lommel), Netherlands (Epe), Germany (Rheinbach Glasfachschule, where we held a week-long workshop with the top year in all aspects of cutting and engraving), Czechia (Kamenicky Senov), Estonia (Talinn, hosted by Mare Saare, Professor of Glass at the university), Finland (Riihimaki) and back to Germany’s Bild-Werk Frauenau, with an exhibition and conference at the museum there. The museum directors supervised the selection of the work so the exhibition avoided being dominated by a particular group. The museums were delighted that we produced a high quality bi-lingual (German and English) catalogue, sponsored by advertising, which they could sell alongside our work, and that their galleries were filled with an excellent, ready-made show for two or three months, allowing their staff a break. Sold work was replaced between stages.
Uta Lauren, the curator of the Finnish National Glass Museum just north of Helsinki at Riihimaki, was very supportive, saying she was keen to show Finnish glass students that “Glass engraving wasn’t just something nasty that the Swedes do!” (sic), so, before our show, we were sponsored to give 10 students several months’ intensive glass engraving tuition. They took to it like proverbial ducks to water. We also have contact with many international artists in South America, Australia, New Zealand, Japan – almost every country where contemporary glass engraving is known.
The Glass Engravers Network group who set up the show at Riihimaki and attended the opening in 2019. Photo: Katharine Coleman.
In 2019 we returned to Riihimaki with another ‘Back on Tour’ show. Dr Sven Hauschke , Director of the Veste Coburg in Germany had been so impressed by the quality and energy of our show that in early 2020 he shipped the entire exhibition of 150 pieces to the European Museum of Contemporary Glass at Roedenthal. The show opened in mid-March 2020, just one day before COVID-19 forced the museum to close for over a year, so nobody ever saw our show. A touring show of Spain and France was similarly abandoned the following year and it has taken time to get things going again. Planning and organising these shows takes a good year, so our next exhibition opened in 2023 in the North-Rhine Westphalian Industrial Glass Museum at Gernheim on the River Weser (famous for the Pied Piper and nearby Hamelin). With a glass cone, built as a copy of the Stourbridge cones in 1826 with a surrounding village, Gernheim still makes glass in the cone and runs courses alongside the museum. Our exhibition filled the ‘Old Master’s House’.
The glass cone at Gernheim is still used for making glass. Photo: Katharine Coleman.
We are struggling to show work beyond Germany but, as we regain our post-COVID-19 momentum, our current exhibition is being hosted by the beautiful glass museum at Coesfeld-Lette, not far from Hannover. If you are not familiar with the Ernsting Stiftung Museum at Coesfeld, it is well worth a visit as it hosts the best (and best displayed) collection of Middle and West European studio glass in Europe. The Ernsting family made their fortune in affordable clothing and spent their fortune since 1945 – and continue to do so – on modern glass.
Google Translate is our great communication tool. Despite Brexit, English has replaced French as the lingua franca of modern Europe and European glass and I hope that Brexit and our separation from Europe will soon be a regrettable few years in the past. In 2002, before Czechia became part of the European Union, it was possible to attend symposia to show work and meet engravers from all over Europe, including Russia; my poor, but just adequate, Russian (learned to welcome my son-in-law’s family to his wedding in 2000) allowed us to chat and make good friends. There are some astonishingly gifted artists there, including portrait artist Alexander Fokin, grandson of the famous ballet choreographer. My contact with them continues, despite recent history, and in May 2020 I was invited to a conference at St Petersburg hosted by the State Glass Museum and the Hermitage to give a talk about West European contemporary glass – sadly another event cancelled by COVID-19.
The Russian delegation to the Glass Engraving Symposium at Kamenicky Senov, Czechia in 2002. Alexander Fokin lies front centre and, on his left, Vladimir Makhovetsky, who is based in St Petersburg. Photo: Katharine Coleman.
I hope the invitation to European graduates in the next CGS New Graduate Review will encourage CGS to consider following the Glass Engraving Network’s example and start exhibiting pan-European work in significant museums. Online exhibitions are great, but nothing beats real exhibitions and real exhibitions lead to sales and contact with the outside world. There are more collectors in Europe than the UK.
Sarah Brown, Chair of CGS, concurs with this idea, and the CGS Team aims to push the exhibition possibilities into Europe and beyond. Sarah says, “Our main aim is to elevate and promote the amazing glass produced by our members, building new networks across the world and educating the next generation of glass makers in the infinite creative possibilities that this incredible medium offers.”
This year, I hope there will be graduates from Ukraine, Moscow and St Petersburg joining in with applications for the New Graduate Review, and just as many graduates from Romania, Bulgaria, Slovenia, and of course all the more familiar European countries with glass courses, now that applications via the internet can fly above and beyond political barriers. Good luck to you all! It’s the chance to build a new generation of friends.
Find out more about Katharine Coleman MBE and her work here.
Portrait of Katharine Coleman at her studio (2019) in front of a poster of her piece ‘Goldfishbowls II’. Photo: D. Coleman.‘Canary Wharf Vase’ (2013) features grey over green glass overlaid on clear lead crystal blown to my design by Andy Potter, and wheel engraved by Katharine Coleman. Photo: Ester Segarra.
Main feature image: Degree students – surprisingly happy – at the end of my intensive month’s course in cutting and engraving, part of their first degree. Taken in 2009 at Escuela de los Vidrios, San Ildefonso de La Granja, Spain.
This year’s winner of the Contemporary Glass Society’s (CGS) Amanda Moriarty prize is Kerry Collison, a stained glass artist and traditional glass painter who is currently interning at The Glass Hub. Kerry has recently started lampworking and wants to use the five-day residency with Laura Quinn to develop lampworked elements, including sculpted limbs and other appendages, that can be incorporated into stained glass panels.
Kerry stated, “I began my art practice with a BA in Sculpture from Carmarthen School of Art, where I specialised in hot metal casting and foundry work. I later earned an MA in Fine Art from Swansea College of Art (2023), focusing on stained glass. During my time in Swansea, I apprenticed with the Architectural Glass Centre and later worked a temporary contract with The Cathedral Studios in Canterbury on both commercial and heritage glazing projects.
“Currently, alongside interning, I am focusing on developing my creative practice and teaching stained glass. My practice blends traditional stained glass techniques with contemporary conceptual fine art. I create intricate, small-scale panels that incorporate humour, mischief, and subverted religious iconography to explore complex themes surrounding sex, gender, pleasure, and violence. Through sacred geometry and hidden symbolism, I aim to invite viewers into intimate visual dialogues that challenge conventional boundaries.
Stained glass panel, ‘Somewhere Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea’.
“Fire has always been central to my practice and finding my way back to using hot processes in making is important to me. After focusing on stained glass, I have felt disconnected from the heat and sculpture in my work. Since joining The Glass Hub, I’ve become increasingly fascinated by the intersections between warm, hot, and cold glass techniques. I see enormous potential in combining these often separate disciplines and this feels like an organic avenue to reconnect with fire.
“Though I am relatively new to lampworking, I feel this cross-disciplinary approach has the potential to push the boundaries of lampworking and stained glass in a contemporary way, whilst celebrating the ancient glass-making techniques.”
Some of Kerry’s lampwork experiments with hands and feet that will be developed as part of the residency.
Commenting on her selection of winner, Laura Quinn, said, “Kerry’s work stood out to me immediately, with its strong illustrative approach and humorous, and sometimes dark content that forces you to look closer. I thought, this is an artist who really owns their own style. Their proposal for the project was successful because of its clarity, Kerry knew what they wanted to achieve, and I knew I could help them do it! Their proposal to include three dimensional limbs, coming out from stained glass panels really excited me, I have never seen the two processes combining in such a way. I am very excited to facilitate Kerry’s residency, and support them in the creation of this new and ambitious project. Congratulations Kerry!”
A sketch illustrating the type of lampworked piece that Kerry wants to develop to feature in a stained glass panel.
The Amanda Moriarty Prize was set up in 2017 to commemorate Amanda Moriarty, a long-serving Board member and Honorary Treasurer of the CGS, who passed away. To celebrate her enthusiasm and encouragement of glassmaking, CGS offers this annual prize in her memory, which features several days of practical experience with a glass mentor and a contribution towards accommodation and travel during the residency. In this case, Laura Quinn will host five days of practical training at her home studio in Reading. CGS thanks Laura for providing this fabulous opportunity.
Main image: Kerry Collison practising lampworking.
The National Glass Centre (NGC) in Sunderland is celebrating the achievements of its graduates over the years with a final exhibition of work before it closes at the end of July 2026.
Anyone who has graduated from the University of Sunderland’s BA(Hons), MA or PhD programmes at the NGC can apply to show work in the exhibition, which will be entitled ‘The Graduates’.
The NGS will highlight the artists who have studied at the iconic building and developed careers working with glass and ceramics. The exhibition will run from 31 January to 31 July 2026.
Selection of works will be made by a panel including Reino Liefkes (Senior Curator, Ceramics and Glass at the Victoria & Albert Museum), Helen Ritchie (Senior Curator of Modern & Contemporary Applied Arts at the Fitzwilliam Museum, University of Cambridge) and Julia Stephenson (Head of Arts at NGC).
Artists should submit one artwork (this could comprise a number of parts). In certain circumstances photographs of artwork will be included in the display, such as public art, site-specific installations and stained glass included within the structure of a building.
Work can have been created at any time between graduation and the present day.
NGC is keen to receive work from outside the UK but is unable to cover international shipping and import and export charges.
Work will not be for sale during the exhibition but a website address can be included on the object label for visitors to contact artists directly and NGC will not take commission for any sales.
The deadline for applications is Sunday 14 September 2025.
Further details and the application form are available here.
Read more about the background to the closure of the iconic building here and the new Glassworks: Sunderland venture here that aims to continue the long tradition of glassmaking in the region.
NGC is located at Liberty Way, Roker, Sunderland SR6 0GL.
Sandra Young is an expert in lampworking borosilicate glass, which she uses to create her signature dragons and other creatures from her studio near Stone Henge in Wiltshire. Here she explains how her practice began and has developed over almost 40 years.
I had always enjoyed art as a child and teenager and studied Scientific Illustration at art college in Southampton. In 1985 I was told about Lymington Glass Mystiques and visited to see what they made, which included quality glass ships in bottles and other glass novelties. I was immediately fascinated and, when a trial period for a job came up, I jumped at the chance. In November of that year, I lit my torch for the first time and – despite singeing my hair three times in as many weeks – I loved it and have not looked back.
A fairy with a cornflower created using borosilicate glass. Photo: Simon Bruntnell Photography.
As the company made glass ships in bottles, I spent several weeks pulling rigging – long, thin strips of glass otherwise known as ‘stringers’ – and tagging the corners of sails to fix them onto the ship’s masts. Even though this was repetitive, I loved the feel of the glass, and I was hooked. I stayed on when invited after my 6-week trial period. 18 months later the owner Jack announced that he was retiring and closing the business. Mandy, another employee, and I decided to carry on, making our own ideas, and in 1987 New Forest Glass Sculpture was formed in my dad’s garage. We made wildlife, fantasy and dragon sculptures right from the start but on a much smaller and simpler scale and design.
Wren amongst cherry blossoms. Photo: Simon Bruntnell Photography.
My dad helped get us a stand at the New Forest Show and we were thrilled with our very modest sales and subsequently booked more, larger ‘craft’ shows in Bournemouth and at Wilton House in Salisbury. We were soon travelling around the country exhibiting and selling our work. We also designed and created awards for British Gas and Holiday Inns as well as others. Making the ‘House of Glass’ for a TVS Television ghost story drama was a highlight of that time. My bees, hedgehogs, birds and seahorses were a favourite at the exhibitions – as they still are today. Dragons have always been signature pieces.
The ‘House of Glass’ made for a TV show.
In 1993 our lives went in different directions and I began working alone. I moved to Wiltshire in 1995, where – although I missed the New Forest – the chalk hill landscape and ancient history gave new inspiration. I continued exhibiting at the large design and craft shows, taking my young boys with me whenever I could.
Througout my career I have specialised in working with solid borosilicate glass in the flame. I have found ways to increase the size and detail I can obtain with this glass. Its properties allow me to work with it longer than the softer glasses, and I can create a lot of detail, which is my idiosyncrasy. However, this can lead to overcomplicated and overly fragile pieces! I use both coloured glass and lustres that fire on in the kiln to create my finished pieces.
Regarding the creative process, for the fantasy pieces I predominantly create directly in the flame by working the glass from ideas I have in my mind. Occasionally I will sketch something to give me an outline of how pieces will fit together if I am creating a diorama, or to work out correct posture and alignment. I also use photographs and occasionally videos, both from online and books, to create realistic sculptures of the wildlife I make. I try to convey my love of the fantastic and mythological world and where it meets reality in the amazing wildlife around us.
My torch is the main tool I create with, and I have a few tweezers and hand tools I have used throughout my working life. I recently bought a new torch, which, after using the same one for over 35 years, was quite a change, but I have grown to love it equally.
My favourite piece changes regularly. I love my dragons, but sometimes the challenge of creating a bird, for example, and giving it the impression of flight and movement is very compelling. If I can convey movement in a sculpture, I am always happy, as is the case with my dancers.
‘Puffin Taking Off’. Photo: Simon Bruntnell Photography.
I still sell my work predominantly to the public at large craft, art and design exhibitions. For example, those organised by Craft in Focus and Living Crafts. Some shops and galleries also sell my work. I have collectors too, some of whom have been collecting since my early days of glass working and still come back regularly for more pieces.
I get commissions through online media and via exhibitions. I was particularly pleased to win the Young Collectors’ Award at the 2022 British Glass Biennale.
‘World Dragon’, which won the Young Collectors’ Award at the 2022 British Glass Biennale.
In the past couple of years, I have been commissioned to make a couple of pieces for TV; one was a small crystal bird in flight for Dr Who and another was a Victorian stork-like bird for a period drama.
I moved home and workshop in 2023 for a fresh start and I am developing more sculptures where I combine bronze and glass. This allows me to introduce more detail, and I love the contrast between the solid, opaque bronze and the fragile glass. This works well with the dragons, but I have many ideas for wildlife creations and other mythological creatures.
A bronze and glass dragon wall art sculpture. Photo: Simon Bruntnell.
I am also working on more diorama pieces. I love combining groups of wildflowers and insects, for example, or different birds around a birdfeeder or branch. I am also creating sculptures featuring water, like my ‘Kingfisher and Splash’ and ‘Puffin Taking Off’. There are many more ideas where those came from that I have yet to create. Underwater scenes and creatures also inspire me.
‘Kingfisher and Splash’ shows my development of movement and water in glass. Photo: Simon Bruntnell Photography.
I demonstrate at some exhibitions, and I also give a few classes per year to give people a taster of lampworking. I hope to inspire more people to take up this very rewarding art.
The complexity of the process is shown in these photographs of the making of a Long-tailed Tit.
My sculpting, though not having made me wealthy financially, has given me so much more in other forms. It has introduced me to other creatives who are now fast friends, and it has helped me through some rough times. The effort of making my creations, although very intense with deep concentration for sometimes a prolonged period of time, brings calm and satisfaction at the completion of a piece. I find it almost meditative – if exhausting!
I am glad to have been able to continue creating – I mark 40 years in November 2025! I am always developing my own techniques and trying to stretch boundaries in my work and in myself. I do not intend to stop any time soon!
Sandra Young creating a glass dragon at the torch.
Find out more about Sandra Young and her work via her website.
Main feature image: Sandra Young with one of her trademark dragon sculptures.
Extraordinary glass artworks by 70 selected members of the Contemporary Glass Society (CGS) will be shown at the influential London Glassblowing Gallery in London in the new exhibition ‘Mirage: An Exhibition Celebrating Glass’ 4th Dimension’ this June.
This exhibition explores the optical illusions possible in contemporary glass. The show celebrates how glass artists manipulate form, colour and light to create amazing effects, ranging from the subtle to the complex.
CGS is delighted to be collaborating with the prestigious London Glassblowing once more on ‘Mirage’ because London Glassblowing’s founder Peter Layton was also one of the founders of our organisation 28 years ago.
From 6-29 June 2025, Peter will be showcasing his masterful work alongside pieces by the following artists: Alexander Pearce; Alison Jardine; Alison Stott; Ana Laura Quintana; Anna Alsina Bardagí; Annica Sandström & David Kaplan; Beth Colledge; Bethan Yates; Bruce Marks; Brynn Hill; Catherine Forsyth; Cathryn Shilling; Caz Hildebrand; Charlotte Wilkinson; Claire Hall; Daisy Parkinson; Deborah Timperley; Dovile Grigaliunaite; Elin Isaksson; Elizabeth Šinková; Gail Turbutt; Georgia Redpath; Graeme Hawes; Harriet Thorne; Helen Brough; Helen Carr; Helen Restorick; Helen Slater Stokes; Iain Smith; Ian Chadwick; Jade Pinnell; James Maskrey; Jane Reeves; Jane Yarnall; Jeff Zimmer; Jianyong Guo; Jiayun Ding; Jo Guile; Jo Mitchell; Jon Lewis; Joshua Kerley and Guy Marshall Brown; Julie Coakley; Katharine Coleman MBE; Katharine Dowson; Kerry Collison; Layne Rowe; Lisa Pettibone; Louise Hawkins; Malvinka Bitelli; Maria Zulueta; Mils Bridgewater; Morag Reekie; Nancy Farrington; Nancy Sutcliffe; Opal Seabrook; Philippa Beveridge; Phillipa Candy; Pratibha Mistry; Richard Roberts; Ruth Shelley; Sam Sweet; Scott Benefield; Stacey Poultney; Steve Robinson; Stevie Davies; Tim Rawlinson; Tracy Nicholls; Tulin Bedri; Verity Pulford; Vicky Higginson, and Wang Ziyan.
Will Budgett, Gallery Assistant at London Glassblowing, who suggested the theme for this exhibition, commented, “The more I see what people do with glass the more amazing I find it. What constantly amazes me is how glass can deceive and delight – the way it creates refractions, reflections, and illusions that draw people in as they explore the gallery. Looking beyond the surface at all of these qualities, and other illusions the glass creates, is astonishing. It is always these extra tricks that constantly draw people’s eyes. Having artists specifically focus on these magical properties promises to create something truly spectacular.”
London Glassblowing is at 62-66 Bermondsey Street, London SE1 3UD. Find out more on the website. Gallery opening hours: Tuesday-Saturday 10am-5pm; Sunday 11am-5pm.
Image: An exploration of flow patterns in kiln-formed glass by Helen Restorick.
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