Autralia’s JamFactory has been supporting and promoting craft and design through its studios, galleries and shops for 50 years. Now it is inviting Australia-based emerging artists and designers working in the fields of glass, furniture, ceramics or jewellery/metal to apply for its acclaimed Associate Programme.
The programme is designed to accelerate development of the professional and entrepreneurial skills required to establish and maintain a successful and sustainable creative career.
It provides:
Studio space and access to specialist facilities to develop your own work;
Seminars and workshops tailored to building a viable creative business;
Professional mentoring and access to visiting artists and designers;
Exposure to significant career development opportunities.
The programmes is built on an intensive Foundation Year, with the option to apply to continue in a semi-independent studio space for a further 1-3 years.
Financial support worth A$2,500 each is available for two eligible Foundation Year applicants via the Helpmann Academy Scholarships.
More information and application form via this link.
JamFactory is at 19 Morphett Street, Tarntanya, Adelaide, SA 5000, Australia. Website: jamfactory.com.au
Join the Contemporary Glass Society (CGS) and the Scottish Glass Society (SGS) this September for the latest in our series of Discovery Days being held around the UK. Open to all who are interested in glass, this promises to be an inspiring day all about this wonderful medium.
The Discovery Day takes place at Edinburgh University on Friday 8 September 2023. Participants will hear from fantastic glass artists based in Scotland, who will talk about their work and studio practices.
In addition, there will be demonstrations and a tour of the Edinburgh College of Art studios.
This is an unparalleled opportunity to meet the artists and find out about their journeys with glass, as well as to chat with others who share a passion for contemporary glass.
The speakers are Juli Bolaños-Durman, Dr Choi Keeryong, Vicky Higginson, Moira Malcolm and Koen Vanmechelen.
Programme for the day:
9.30am Registration and coffee (provided)
10.00am Welcome by Dr Jessamy Kelly, Director of Learning and Teaching, PGT Design & Deputy PGT Convenor, School of Design at Edinburgh College of Art
10.15am Talk by Choi Keeryong PhD
11.15am Talk by Juli Bolaños-Durman
12.15pm Lunch (please bring your own)
12.45pm Walk to workshops escorted by student ambassadors
12.55pm Studio Tour by student ambassadors, plus demonstrations
1.40pm Demonstrations end
1.50pm Walk back to University
2pm Talk by Moira Malcolm
3pm Talk by Vicky Higginson
4pm Tea and coffee (provided)
4.20pm Talk by Koen Vanmechelen
5.20pm Farewell
5.30pm End of day
Come along and meet old friends and make new ones.
Reduced price tickets are available for student members of CGS and SGS.
This Discovery Day is a joint initiative by CGS and SGS.
Venue: Edinburgh College of Art, The University of Edinburgh, West Court, Main Building, 74 Lauriston Place, Edinburgh EH3 9DF, Scotland.
Sadly, two more glass centres in the UK have ceased trading recently. The internationally renowned North Lands Creative, in Caithness, Scotland, and the Nazeing Glass Works on the border between Hertfordshire and Essex, England, have both shut their doors.
North Lands Creative announced in July 2023 that it was postponing its Summer Programme of glass courses. However, staff were surprised to be told on 31 July that the centre had “ceased trading”. North Lands’ chair Carolyn Jones broke the news to the three full-time and three part-time staff, who were advised that they had all lost their positions and should go home immediately.
North Lands Creative was a unique studio organisation and gallery located in Lybster, which focused on contemporary glass and developing glass in the UK. Through the Alastair Pilkington Studio and Gallery, it facilitated and supported professional artists to make artwork. It also ran a programme of talks, events and education activities around the studio and gallery.
CGS chair, Susan Purser Hope commented, “North Lands has always been somewhere that seemed rather mystical. In almost every one of our Wednesday talks, the artist featured described the huge impact that North Lands had on the development of their work.”
Nazeing Glass Works
Established in 1928, Nazeing Glass Works was one of the longest surviving glass manufacturers in the UK until it closed its doors at the end of August 2023. It could identify itself in glass manufacturing history back to 1612 in Vauxhall. The company made industrial and commercial glassware for the UK, as well as exporting to customers in Europe, Scandinavia, Asia and Australia.
Speaking about the family-run business, Samantha Pollock-Hill, said the firm originally made light bulbs at the Nazeing site. “My father-in-law set up Nazeing Glass Works and my husband (now 75 years old) worked in the factory from 11 years old. It has sustained thanks to the incredible team at Nazeing Glass Works: our family, our managing director, Sean Full, our chief of administration Kay, our factory manager, Mick, the incredible craftsmen Michael, Mac, Lenny, John, David, Dave, and the packing department, Claire and Jeremy.”
The team have been selling off the glass stock. Everything must go and there are just a few days left to view and buy. Anyone interested should email Samantha on sami@homewood-bb.co.uk or phone her on 01438 812105 and state that you are calling regarding the Nazeing Glass Works Museum Sale.
Nazeing Glass Works is at Nazeing New Road, Broxbourne, Herts, EN10 6SU.
Main image: The sun goes down on North Lands Creative.
A petition has been launched to support the concept of a Glass Culture Campus in the glassmaking town of Frauenau, situated in the Bavarian Forest in Germany.
Friends of the international glass centre Bild-Werk Frauenau and the foundation managing the former home of artists Erwin and Gretel Eisch, which was left in their will as permanent place for art and culture, are calling on the Bavarian State Government to back the proposal financially and secure the future of glass and art in the area.
For over 60 years Erwin and Gretel Eisch inspired countless people with their ideas and art. Since 1965 Erwin Eisch had gathered the international glass art world around his studio glass furnace within the Eisch glass works, making Frauenau the European capital of the studio glass movement.
At Bild-Werk Frauenau this distinctive combination of glass, art and craft, of poetry and the joy of creation lives on. Since 1988, the International Summer Academy has covered regional skills, western European traditions and transatlantic innovation. In addition, the EU Glass Works project has supported young glass workers with international networks and publicity.
Now, in the summer of 2023, the futures of the Academy and the Eisch villa are uncertain. With the decline of the traditional glassworks and the dramatic loss of glass knowledge and sales markets, the Eastern Bavarian glass region sits at a turning point. They need a reliable guarantee to secure their continued existence for the glass and art community.
The idea of the Glass Culture Campus brings together the various unique potentials of Frauenau: educational work in art and culture; creative industries in glass, as well as the cross-border heritage of glassmakers. On the heritage-protected site of the former Gistl crystal glass factory, the plan is to bring together the resources, networks and experience that have grown over decades in the International Summer Academy for Glass and Art and the projects at Bild-Werk Frauenau, with the artists’ house of Erwin and Gretel Eisch.
Through the open infrastructure of the new campus, it is hoped that these two Frauenau activity centres can develop outstanding future potential and synergies.
The supporters of this idea are asking the glass and wider art community to support and share their petition so they can reach their goal of 1,500 names or more in the coming weeks. Read more and sign the petition via this link.
The first edition of a new annual exhibition celebrating glass making from the Stourbridge Glass Quarter takes place from 8-24 September 2023 at the General Office Gallery in Stourbridge, West Midlands.
The exhibition showcases the work of six diverse makers, using techniques ranging from traditional copper wheel engraving, cameo glass and enamelling to contemporary studio glass and sculptural works.
Glass artists to be showcased include Vic Bamforth, Terri Colledge, Jacqueline Cooley, George Jackson, Steve Piper and Georgia Redpath.
As part of the event there will also be a talk and a demonstration. The talk, by Georgia Redpath, will cover both her inspiration – the patterns and structures found in nature – and her approach to the process of kiln cast glass. It is on Saturday 9 September from 2-3pm (No booking necessary).
On Saturday 23 September from 12-2pm, Terri Colledge will be demonstrating her techniques of enamel painting onto glass, as well as talking about her cameo glass engraving and the Portland Vase (No booking necessary).
The General Office Gallery is at 12 Hagley Road, Stourbridge DY8 1PS. It is open daily 11am-4pm (closed Monday 19 and Tuesday 20 September) (stair access only). Website: www.generaloffice.co.uk
Australia-based New Zealand artist Wendy Fairclough will be showing her ‘Landfall’ collection at Sabbia Galleryin Australia in September 2023.
Wendy draws from her background in printmaking and sculpture, using processes that include glassblowing, engraving, sand carving and casting. She is adept at moving between three-dimensional and two-dimensional fields. Her ongoing interest in what we have in common as human beings, regardless of culture and religion, has led her to artist residencies in China, New Zealand and India.
Wendy has exhibited internationally throughout Asia, New Zealand, the US, Canada and Australia. Her work is represented in private and public collections, including the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs, National Gallery of Australia, Australian National Art Glass Collection, Australian National University Collection,and the Museum of Australian Democracy.
The exhibition starts on 2 September and runs until 23 September. There will be an afternoon opening launch from 2 to 4pm on 2 September (registration required), with artist Clare Belfrage as the opening speaker.
The show will run in conjunction with the solo exhibition ‘Entangled Anatomy’, featuring work by emerging ceramic artist Michele Edinger.
Sabbia Gallery is at 609 Elizabeth Street, Redfern, Sydney, NSW, 2016, Australia. Website: https://sabbiagallery.com/
A total of 35 artists from different countries will be showing work at Mosaic and Glass Arts International 2023 exhibition in New York this September.
The event is a collaboration between the Society of American Mosaic Artists (SAMA) and the Stained Glass Association of America (SGAA). It takes place at the CEPA Gallery, Buffalo, New York, from 1-30 September 2023.
The exhibition comprises two segments: Fine Art and Site-Specific & Architectural Art. It includes a special exhibit by Oregon-based artist, Kate Kerrigan. The exhibition elevates new perspectives of mosaic art, stained glass and architectural art in numerous contexts and celebrates established, as well as emerging, artists working in these traditional mediums today. The artists showing their work come from throughout the US, Canada, the UK and South Africa.
SAMA and SGAA began partnering in early 2022 to expand outreach, enrich programming and share resources to more effectively serve both the stained glass and mosaic art communities.
After a three-year hiatus from presenting the annual exhibition in-person, SAMA Executive Director, Dawnmarie Zimmerman commented on the endurance of the artists who kept creating during the COVID-19 pandemic: “This exhibition is truly a celebration of perseverance. Some of the community and architectural installations endured countless delays and resource challenges, yet the artists and fabricating studios found a way to complete these monumental works and infuse art into public places and engage communities.”
The entries were juried by a distinguished panel, including; Claudia Carballada, manager of community engagement, Buffalo AKG Art Museum, Lindsy R Parrott, executive director and curator, The Neustadt Collection of Tiffany Glass and Lillian Sizemore, researcher, maker and educator. They selected 38 works from over 120 submitted.
The jurors were also tasked with selecting 11 awards from the work chosen for the exhibition. Best in Show – Stained Glass was awarded to Anika Van Der Merwe for ‘The Woman and the Red Dragon’ (main image) and Best in Show – Mosaic went to Kathleen Crocetti for ‘Watsonville Brilliante’.
The CEPA Gallery is at: 617 Main St #201, Buffalo, NY 14203, US. Gallery hours: Wednesday: 12-4pm. Thursday: 4-7pm, Friday: 12-4pm, Saturday: 12-4pm, or by appointment.
Main image: Anika Van Der Merwe’s ‘The Woman and the Red Dragon’.
Four winners, five highly commended and 10 commended graduates have been selected by an esteemed judging panel for awards in the 2023 Glass Sellers’ and Contemporary Glass Society’s (CGS) Graduate Glass Prize. They and their work will also be featured in the glossy New Graduate Review publication, which will be circulated with the next print edition of the CGS Glass Network magazine and the prestigious Neues Glas/New Glass: Art & Architecture magazine.
First prize went to Beth Colledge, who studied for a BA at De Montfort University, Leicester. Her entry, ‘Equilibrium’ (main image), came top out of 47 applications from 15 colleges and universities across the UK and Ireland.
Second prize was awarded to Roos Peeters, who studied a BA at the University for the Creative Arts in Farnham, Surrey, for the work ‘Pebble II’.
‘Pebble II’ by Roos Peeters was awarded second prize.
The two runners up were Georgina Fuller, who graduated with an MA from the Royal College of Art, London, and Zeynep Korun, who achieved a BA at Arts University Plymouth.
Georgina Fuller’s work was awarded one of two runners up prizes.Zeynep Korun was also rewarded with a runners up prize.
Prize bundles included cash, vouchers, CGS memberships, glass books, subscriptions to Neues Glasmagazine and features in New Graduate Review magazine.
Other noted entries were:
Highly Commended Jacqui Fowler – University of Wales Trinity St. David, Swansea (MA) Nuala Torp – Manchester School of Art (BA) Meng Sun – Royal College of Art, London (MA Jewellery) Sophie Southgate – Royal College of Art, London (MA) Leonora Lockhart – Royal College of Art, London (MA)
Commended Lucy Richards – Arts University Plymouth (BA) Susan Pitt – University of Wolverhampton (MA) Lynn O’ Donovan – Crawford College of Art and Design part of MTU University, Cork, Ireland (BA) Alix Costin – De Montfort University, Leicester (BA) Hannah Masi – University of Sunderland (BA) Donna Brown – Arts University Plymouth (BA) Keisha Brittle – De Montfort University, Leicester (BA) Thomas Radburn – Manchester Metropolitan (BA) Zihao Xiong – Royal College of Art, London (MA) Ali Jarvis – University for the Creative Arts, Farnham (MA)
CGS and the judges recognised that many of this year’s graduates had to navigate through COVID-19 restrictions and all the barriers that followed, so they were especially impressed with the number of submissions and standards of work. The glass prize and inclusion in New Graduate Review provide valuable publicity for the winners and aim to help them embark on their glass journeys.
The judges had a long and arduous task in selecting the winners and all those to be included in the New Graduate Review 2023. The selection panel comprised Tracy Nicholls (artist), Professor Michael Barnes (glass collector/CGS Trustee), Sarah L Brown (glass artist/CGS Trustee) and Leigh Baildham from the Worshipful Company of Glass Sellers of London Charity Fund.
In order to support emerging graduates at the beginning of long careers in glass making, CGS offers the annual Graduate Prize and produces the accompanying New Graduate Review magazine, featuring the work of some of the best of the UK’s glass art graduates emerging from British and Irish universities and colleges. To do this, CGS is grateful to receive funding and support from sponsors the Worshipful Company of Glass Sellers of London Charity Fund, Professor Michael Barnes MC FRCP, Creative Glass, Pearsons Glass, Warm Glass, Neues Glas and Alan J Poole.
Judge Leigh Baildham commented, “There was an excellent standard of work submitted once again this year. It seems the judges have a harder task each time we meet to agree on the submissions that merit particular note. So good to see, as the work was being reviewed, that all of the universities and colleges that offer glass education were represented. Congratulations to the students who submitted pieces, and particularly to those who received prizes and special recognition.”
Main image: ‘Equilibrium’ by first prize winner Beth Colledge, who graduated with a BA from De Montfort University, Leicester.
Architectural glass artist Sasha Ward has worked on over 100 commissions for buildings across the UK, but her repertoire includes art on a smaller scale. Linda Banks finds out more.
What led you to start working with glass?
I started saying I wanted to do stained glass when I was at school and was being encouraged to choose a career. I thought it represented a good combination of my interests – pattern, colour, architecture, craft – and I thought it was an original choice as stained glass was not in fashion at the time (this was the mid-1970s). I had a set of postcards of the windows of Chartres Cathedral; it was these images that I remember as the deciding factor. When I went to art school I chose to do my foundation course at The Central School of Art because it had a stained glass department that I could use.
Staircase fin at the University of Winchester (2000). It measures 52 sq.m.
What glass techniques have you used and which do you prefer?
The aspect of stained glass that I have always been most interested in is glass painting. As I continued my studies in art school, I desperately wanted to paint with transparent colours on glass and to get rid of the lead lines. This led to me working with transparent enamels and to try and find different ways of joining glass pieces together. When I started making work for buildings – which were mostly modern ones – this problem disappeared as the glazing bars around large windows of float glass did the job for me. However, the joining problem comes back when I’m making something that is not for a building. I’ve started using lead again and am loving it for its versatility and longevity.
What is your creative approach? Do you draw your ideas out or dive straight in with the materials?
I think my strength is in my sense of design as much as my use of materials. I do pages of drawing to work out a design, and lots of glass samples to check colours and textures against each other. Then I work to a detailed plan for the making stage, I don’t deviate from the plan at all although this doesn’t stop the unexpected happening to enamels in the kiln.
Entrance screen (detail), The State Hospital, Carstairs (2011), measuring 6 x 3.2m.
You have undertaken many architectural commissions. How do you approach these large-scale designs?
I use pattern and repetition in large-scale designs, echoing the shapes and proportions in the architecture. I always make models while I work out my approach to a design that is site specific, if I’m working with a manufacturer, this is the only hands-on work I get to do during the process. With experience, I can work on a small scale and visualise the work as it will be in the building; when you’re working to commission, no one wants any surprises.
Corner window, Premier Inn, Hanover Street, Liverpool, (2012), measuring 80sq.m.
Sometimes you work with materials like acrylic, adhesive vinyl and window film. Why is this?
I have used other materials for commissions either because of the low budget, the short lifespan of the project or reasons connected to health and safety in the built environment. Although these considerations sound like constraints rather than exciting opportunities, I have embraced the way that working to commission in unexpected places has led me to doing things I wouldn’t have chosen to do, learning new skills along the way. As I consider design to be the most important aspect, I’m happy to see my work translated into a variety of different materials.
Vinyl wallpaper in corridor, vinyl door panels, Paediatric Mortuary, Manchester Children’s Hospital (2019). Dimensions: 2.6 x 6.8m.
You have collaborated with Ray Ward to create stained glass pieces based on his drawings. How did this come about?
I have shared a studio with Ray Ward since we met as art students over 40 years ago. It goes without saying that I really like his work. Ray’s drawings remind me of the characters and details in medieval stained glass that drew me to the medium in the first place. Over the years people have suggested that we should collaborate. Then the COVID-19 lockdown and an exhibition at Norwich Cathedral provided us with the perfect opportunity. However, we don’t really collaborate; a drawing of Ray’s is chosen, then I photocopy it, choose a colour scheme and paint directly from the copy.
‘These People are Intellectuals, They Live in Houses Full of Books and Have Nothing Worth Stealing’ is a collaborative panel with Ray Ward (2020). Dimensions: 700 x 540mm.
What is your favourite tool or piece of equipment and why?
All I need, apart from hand tools, are my massive kiln and my sandblaster. I couldn’t do anything without a sandblaster. Roughing up the surface of the glass, or removing fired enamel, is as important to my process as putting it on.
Do you have a favourite piece you have made? Why is it your favourite?
One of my favourite pieces is a window I made in 1998 for Frimley Park Hospital, which is about to be demolished as the hospital is being redeveloped. It is a very successful translation of my original black and white drawing. It looks a bit like a quilt and is my version of the cliched subject matter stipulated in the brief, which was sunrise (the window faces east). This window marked a turning point in my thinking, as I realised how I could make quite large windows myself during the manufacturing process. As a result I ordered my big kiln so I could carry out these projects.
The window at Frimley Park Hospital, Surrey (1998). 2.4 x 1.8 m.
What advice would you give to someone starting out on a career in glass?
I think that it is important for anyone starting out in glass to stick to their own path, rather than worry about what everyone else is doing. There are no rules when you choose a career in art, so the advantage should be that you can do things in your own way. This doesn’t mean taking the easy path. I think you need to focus on getting your work made in the best way, rather than on enjoying yourself during the process.
Studio view with work in progress on the lightbox, walls and windows (2020).
Where is your glass practice heading next?
I’m at the stage where I’m thinking about what I want to leave behind. I have realised that a lot of the technologies used in my commissioned work, for example double glazed units, have a limited life span in buildings that may not themselves last. Rather than looking for commission opportunities, I am concentrating on making pieces of work that I actually want to make, drawing on my stack of accumulated materials and my archive of unrealised design ideas.
About the artist
Sasha Ward installing exhibition in The Hostry, Norwich Cathedral. 2020 Photo: Kate Gadsby.
Sasha Ward is an architectural glass artist who has designed, and sometimes made, over 100 commissions for buildings throughout the UK. She has a degree in fine art from Trent Polytechnic, Nottingham, and a Masters degree in glass from The Royal College of Art, London.
A tour of the Carnival Glass Society’s exhibition at Stourbridge Glass Museum and a talk at the historic Himley Hall in Dudley, West Midlands, will be highlights at the Society’s upcoming annual weekend this Autumn.
Taking place from Friday 29 September to Sunday 1 October 2023, the event is for Carnival Glass Society members only, for whom attendance is free. Anyone interested in joining the Society can do so online and then they can sign up for the weekend.
The programme begins on the Friday evening with a drinks reception and tour at Stourbridge Glass Museum, where there are over 300 items of carnival glass on display, including rarities never exhibited before. Participants will hear the fascinating story of carnival glass, which spans more than 150 years from its early inspirations through to the current day. They will also be able to browse the Museum’s other exhibits.
On the Saturday (9.30am to 4.30pm) the event moves to Himley Hall, where there will be carnival glass for sale at prices to suit all budgets, as well as an afternoon filmed presentation by author and historian, James Measell, on the Stourbridge glassmaking pioneers Thomas Dugan and Harry Northwood.
There will be a raffle to win a rare, 3-inch high carnival glass ‘Rex’ vase made by Eda Glasbruk in Sweden in the 1920s and a ‘straw draw’ where every even number wins a piece of carnival glass.
An optional buffet is available on the Friday evening (£10 a head) and an optional meal will be available at Himley Hall (£25 for two courses or £30 for three courses).
On Sunday 1 October members can enjoy a canal boat trip from the historic Bonded Warehouse along the Stourbridge canal (£9 per person).
Email autyt@aol.com or call Trudy on 0759 526 1735 for further details and information on how to register.
For anyone interested in joining the Carnival Glass Society, there is a special membership offer of £14 for electronic membership (up to two names per membership) which runs to 31 October 2024 and includes eight 40-page newsletters. Find out more and join via this link.
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
