The Contemporary Glass Society (CGS) is delighted to be collaborating again with The World of Glass to present a members-only exhibition this autumn. The show will take place in the museum’s recently upgraded exhibition space.
The World of Glass is located in St Helens in the north-west of England and the exhibition is open to all CGS members at any stage of their careers, but with a special emphasis on those artists located in the North. If you are not yet a member and would like to apply for this opportunity, why not join here?
The exhibition will run from Saturday 30 September to Friday 17 November 2023.
The World of Glass is dedicated to the local history of the Merseyside area, seen primarily through the lens of the glass industry. It was founded in 2000 and presents an amalgamation of the former Pilkington Glass and St Helens Borough Council collections. The purpose-built premises was constructed adjacent to the Pilkington’s glassworks and the stretch of the St Helens Canal known as the ‘Hotties’. There are glassblowing demonstrations and visitors can see the Victorian furnace and tunnels built in 1887 by William Windle Pilkington.
There is no theme to the CGS exhibition, but it will celebrate the diversity of contemporary glass and a broad range of techniques. All work submitted must be for sale. Wall pieces and plinth-based work are welcome.
Artists can submit up to three pieces of work for consideration. The museum will select the artworks to be included in the exhibition.
Glass artist and engraver Alison Kinnaird’s installation ‘War Memorial’ is now on exhibition in the public area of the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh. It will be on show there for six months.
Alison states that this artwork was inspired by her hearing the names of battles being fought in Ukraine and thinking of all the names of wars and conflicts throughout the world and throughout history.
“No area seems untouched, and no lessons seem to be learned. Any viewer of the piece is likely to find names relevant to their own country. The child in the centre is symbolic of the fact that war does not just affect the military, but also that there is a child within each individual soldier,” she explains. “Glass seemed the perfect medium in which to represent the fragility of life in time of war.”
In addition, Alison’s open studio Festival Fringe solo exhibition ‘Art in Glass’, will be open in Shillinghill, Temple, for the month of August 2023 (10am – 5pm). Address: Fringe Venue 244, Shillinghill Studios, Temple, Midlothian, EH234SH, Scotland. Find out more here.
Artist Dori Settles is drawn to textures in her work and celebrates people’s unique stories in her recreations of their footwear in her latest pâte de verre glass series. Linda Banks finds out more.
What led you to start working with glass? What glass techniques have you used and which do you prefer?
I began my art practice as a craftsperson, recycling fabric from thrift store finds into purses and other utilitarian items. During this time, my husband signed up for blacksmithing classes at a local cooperative and I found a class that focused on creating artworks with scrap fabric. Not long after, I began taking lampworking classes with another artist in the building, mainly to make glass beads and buttons for my fibre art. I dabbled in fusing on my own.
‘Goldie & Han’ (2012), cotton & glass beads.
What really hooked me into glass was taking a class called Fabric of Glass with Lisa Becker (US) at our local glass shop. In the class, I cast a pair of baby overalls, but my mind started to whirr with the possibilities of combining quilting and glass. From there, I took more workshops to advance my techniques and find my ‘glass voice’. My cast work would be vastly different today if it weren’t for artist-instructors Mark Abildgaard, Evelyn Gottschall-Baker, Alicia Lomné and Carol Milne.
‘Jan’s Quilt’ (2016). This is a detail image of open-back cast glass created from an original crazy quilt made by Jan Bergman.
What is your creative approach?
I appreciate the skill and practice behind realism. When I look at objects I think, ‘How can I create this in glass?’ Sometimes – or more like rarely – I sketch. Most often, I jump in and give it a go. I get bored easily, which is why I no longer do production work. Once I’ve successfully created the glass object, I move on to something new, which could be something as simple as changing the colour, repositioning parts, or adding inclusions. At other times, it means finding a new object to challenge me.
Last year, when I started on the ‘Shoes: Storytellers of our Lives’ series, for which I set a goal of making 52 shoes, I initially cast only the uppers. I’d change colours, move laces into different positions, or add mica for different effects. I was happy to receive a variety of shoes from around the US to try to work out different styles. Then a friend gave me her favorite shoes and commented how cool the soles were. Not only did they pose a unique challenge, because they were covered in glitter, but now I needed to figure out how to create the shoe with the sole. This is the type of challenge I enjoy most. I started working out soles and glitter effect with the piles of shoes I had until I felt comfortable recreating her shoes (see main feature image).
What inspires your work? What message(s) do you want to convey through your art?
I am deeply connected to texture. One of the reasons I create most of my work using pâte de verre is because of the way the glass feels as I move my hand across it.
The other reason I work in glass, and especially pâte de verre, is because glass is like people. Glass is both resilient and vulnerable. It alternates between transparency and opacity and can be simultaneously revealing and concealing. Whether I am recreating a natural object or a man-made object, my goal is the same. I want the viewer to see and feel the details and the unique stories that the objects hold.
Dori Settles holding a pâte de verre Royal Paulownia leaf (2018).‘Dog Ate My Slipper’, (2022), pâte de verre, was Dori’s first attempt at making a slipper. Photo: Ivaylo Gueorgiev.‘Laundered’, (2022), pâte de verre. The second attempt at making a slipper. Photo: Ivaylo Gueorgiev.‘Sliced’, (2022), pâte de verre. Dori finally achieved the slipper design. Photo: Ivaylo Gueorgiev.
Do you have a career highlight?
I am excited to announce that the complete collection of Shoes: Storytellers of our Lives will be making a debut at the Waterworks Visual Art Center in North Carolina this September 2023. There will be over 55 shoes on display, some pairs, and many individual shoes. Each has its own story.
Part of the Shoe Collection, pâte de verre, various sizes.
Where is your glass practice heading next?
As I conclude the creation of shoes, I am exploring the use of recycled glass with pâte de verre and transitioning my studio to an all-recycled-glass set-up as my ‘new glass’ supply dwindles.
I am also returning to teaching. Prior to 2020, I was teaching from my studio. In addition to the dealing with the pandemic, we moved from the middle of the US to the East Coast. I was planning to teach before now, but I found I needed to devote my energy and space to the shoes. This autumn I will be opening my studio to students.
What advice would you give to someone starting out on a career in glass?
Glass requires patience. Spend time understanding the fundamentals – even if you live in a remote area, there are amazing online resources, such as the Tech Tips on the Bullseye Glass website.
You have all the knowledge you need. This may seem contrary to the first bits of advice. Taking a lot of classes is a distraction from the real work. Get in the studio. Make work. And when you hit the technical brick wall, then it’s time to take a class.
Approach classes with the mindset of, ‘What do I want to learn from this class? And, why?’ For example, I am blown away by Carol Milne’s knitted glass sculptures. I had some ideas how I might use the technique (which I have not done in four years), but the number one reason I took her class was to learn how to divest such highly intricate cast pieces. I learned so much more than that!
Make good notes and take photos. The biggest mistake I’ve made over the last 12-plus years of working with glass is thinking I’d remember what I did, or that I wouldn’t return to a project. Now, when I look back at my lack of notes, I realise that I am repeating a lot of the same effort or, worse, forgetting what I learned from what worked and what didn’t work in the past.
Work in progress on ‘Woman’s Work’, involving assembling parts to form the shoe.‘Woman’s Work’, (2022), pâte de verre. Photo: Ivaylo Gueorgiev.
Find your tribe. Working as an independent studio artist can be challenging, technically and spiritually. One of the most rewarding parts of my practice is a monthly Zoom call with fellow glass artists across North America. We started meeting as a virtual residency during the pandemic. We support each other’s practice, talk about goals, techniques, business concerns, provide honest critiques and even share our personal lives. These glass friends are incredibly important to me and they make my art practice, and my life, much richer.
About the artist
Dori Settles was born and grew up in southeastern Wisconsin in the US. The Arts were instilled early on, with piano lessons and children’s art classes. During high school she first encountered American Sign Language (ASL) through the movie Children of a Lesser God. She was immediately drawn to the language and studied ASL, becoming a certified sign language interpreter.
Her experience as a sign language interpreter plays a large role in her view of the world. Having worked in a variety of settings with people of differing backgrounds, including Deaf-Blind people, she finds herself paying close attention to space and the tactile aspects of the objects around her.
Today, Dori finds much of her inspiration in the forest surrounding her home and studio in North Carolina.
See Dori’s work processes in this video and read the stories behind her cast shoes on her website: https://dorisettles.com
Main feature image: A pair of pâte de verre shoes from Dori’s latest series, entitled ‘My Ruby Slippers’.
For the first time in five years Australia’s Sabbia Gallery is hosting an exhibition by Ben Edols and Kathy Elliott called ‘Relate/Animate’ this August.
With an exhibiting career of over 33 years together, and their last show in 2018, Relate/Animate comprises a body of new artworks that draws on a deep understanding of the nature of glass and the markings that can be made to the surface.
As the gallery notes, many artists have found the last few years challenging and Kathy’s words will speak to many:
“Not every exhibition of our work has a story, but this small grouping does. During COVID we lost connection to our work, me more than Ben, but I saw this shift towards the end of 2020.
Because we have hand skills and can harness our ideas we pushed on. Keeping busy was the order of the day and I think we were content to just have a focus.
“What became clear over time was that the work was not meaningful to us, we had lost our way. It wasn’t the first time it had happened, but this was unexpected. In late 2021 I listened to a series of podcasts made by Lisa Cahill from the Australian Design Centre and cried with relief when I listened to Jeff Mincham talk about mid-life dry spells in a creative life. I was so thankful to hear Jeff talk about his experience with this landscape so openly. It gave me a perspective I needed reminding of.
“I needed to trace back and find the last time I felt connected to the work. I found that time and picked up a thread of what I wanted to continue to explore. My other intention was to try and learn something new from each piece. The show is called Relate/Animate because I knew we needed to relate to the work before we could animate the exhibition one piece at a time. Still themes of water, more rocks are coming in. For me they signify the necessary strength we draw on as we face the constant flow of life. The rocks, more than the water, draw my attention these days.”
Relate/Animate will be on show at Sabbia Gallery from 5-26 August 2023. It is open Tuesday – Friday 11am to 6pm and Saturday 11am to 4pm.
Sabbia Gallery is at: Ground Floor, 609 Elizabeth Street, Redfern, NSW 2016, Australia. Website: www.sabbiagallery.com
Image: ‘Billow’ by Ben Edols and Kathy Elliott comprises blown glass and wheel carving. Photo: Greg Piper.
Scotland’s North Lands Creative has announced that it is postponing its summer course programme.
In a message to friends and colleagues, the organisation states:
“Like many organisations, North Lands Creative has faced some significant challenges in the last few years. The ripple effects of the pandemic, recruitment challenges (particularly in a rural area), the energy crisis and the subsequent funding crisis have created a creeping, negative toll on our programming and, most importantly, on the wellbeing of our people. As such, due to the extenuating circumstances we find ourselves placed in, the Board of Directors has taken the hard decision to pause this year’s summer programme and cancel the forthcoming scheduled professional classes. Our community classes will run as scheduled until the end of this month [July].
“We know this will come as a huge disappointment to those of you planning to travel and participate and will cause concern for those of you who hold North Lands in your hearts and minds. To those individuals who have registered for classes, we will be in touch with you to organise a refund of fees immediately. To our instructors, we really hope that you will join us again at a later date, to deliver the classes exactly as you envisioned.
“However, though our professional programme is to be temporarily paused, we are not stopping. North Lands has, since its establishment, striven to be a place of learning, community, development and a source of inspiration; behind the scenes, both the board and staff will be dedicating themselves to safeguarding this vision and making North Lands a place we are proud to invite our guests into once again.
“Thank you for your understanding, your patience and the support that so many of you have offered – we hope to be taking many of you up on this in a more practical way very soon. We wholeheartedly acknowledge the importance that North Lands holds for many and look forward to welcoming you all once again to Lybster in the near future.”
North Lands Creative is based in Lybster, Caithness, Scotland.
A new series celebrating traditional crafts starts on Sky Arts this month (July 2023). ‘Bill Bailey’s Master Crafters: The Next Generation’ showcases expert crafters in the fields of stained glass, wood carving and silversmithing who mentor junior craftspeople as they perfect their skills.
Hosted by musician, comedian and actor Bill Bailey, the series will also highlight the work of the Prince’s Foundation to support new generations of crafters to keep traditional building practices alive.
Mentor for the stained glass part of the show is John Reyntiens, whose studio has been commissioned to work on prestigious projects for venues including the UK’s Houses of Parliament. John oversees the work of three junior glass artists in the first episode, which launches on Sky Arts on Thursday 13 July 2023 at 8pm.
Image: Show presenter Bill Bailey (left) with John Reyntiens.
Phil Vickery was captivated by a glassblowing demonstration he saw as a boy, but it was not until he took a glass module during his art foundation course that he decided to pursue this rather than painting as a career. Linda Banks finds out more.
What led you to start working with glass?
I knew I wanted to be an artist from a very young age, but I couldn’t imagine where that would lead me! At the age of about eight, I went to the Isle of Wight and visited some glass studios there. I was amazed! I couldn’t stop watching the glassmaker blowing glass. There was so much action and beautiful fluid motion to what they were doing.
But, back then, I was still interested in painting. My direction changed when I went to Portsmouth University to do my foundation in art. They had a module in glass. I took it because I remembered my time watching glass blowing at the Isle of Wight and I was interested in painting on glass. I was intrigued by the way glass bent the light and distorted what was behind it, so the lecturer suggested doing the module. I was hooked right away! This led me to Wolverhampton University to study glass. As soon as I got in the hot shop I told my then lecturer, Colin Rennie, that this was all I wanted to do! And it was!
What glass techniques have you used and which do you prefer?
The techniques that I have used most are hot glass and cold glass. However, I have dabbled in kiln work, and I am interested in experimenting with copper plating. When I started, I was only interested in the hot glass process and I did everything that I could to not have to cold work my pieces! But, as time and my career progressed, I integrated cold working into my design ethos. It is now almost more important in my work than the hot glass.
Cold working is a major aspect of Phil’s practice, as shown in these ‘Faceted Vortex Sculptures’.
What is your creative approach? Do you draw your ideas out or dive straight in with the materials?
Initially, I designed works to form ranges. I imagined them in a sketchbook and then set to realising those ideas in the hot shop. Later, my work moved away from ranges and giftware to one-off sculptures. I adopted a more evolving approach to my practice where the ideas flowed from one to another.
When I have an idea or theme that I want to explore, I think deeply about it to come up with a starting point. The piece is made in the hot shop, and then sculpted with cold working to the most appropriate form that demonstrates my theme. Cold working depends on the individual piece and seeking out where the colours and interior forms of the glass look amazing.
The post process work helps me to bring out the most aesthetically and conceptually pleasing glass forms to fit my mental image. Once the sculpture is finished I use the piece as a starting point for my next sculpture by studying it closely and looking at how it can be improved. The next piece is then informed by that design, so my process evolves with each creation. This is the way that I have built up a large body of work of predominantly unique sculptures.
‘Vortex Wave’ by Phil Vickery.
What inspires your work?
The inspiration for most of my work is the beauty, and sublime ideas of deep time captured in lifeforms in the world’s seas. Most of my life I have lived by the sea, and its constant changing and beautiful variety havealways kept me captivated.
I am always driven towards expressing the inner self as well. I use my glass forms to explore complex theories of the mind. What is consciousness? These sculptures are a representation of the way people can think in an ephemeral way, and they also explore the flow of thought. Thoughts can flow from the subconscious like the way water can flow in a river.
Each piece of Phil’s work evolves from the previous one. This is an amber iteration of ‘Transient Thoughts’.
What message(s) do you want to convey through your art?
My hope is that people can take what they enjoy from my work. It’s quite open to interpretation, so it can be anything the audience takes from the work, be it beauty, a feeling of the sea, or the internal, or something I didn’t even consider. It’s purposely left up to the viewer.
Aesthetic beauty plays a huge part in my work. I use abstract expression to grow my visual language. I utilise art to create representational, tangible artworks about the natural power of thought, relationships and human nature, as well as investigating how the subconscious is woven into this equation.
My sculptures are tools of representational awareness; a focusing of human energy, to convey thoughts. I employ my own subconscious as a powerful lens to focus my own individuality and use the art to explore what connects us as a species. In my sculptures, colour and form represent various emotional states of the mind and the subconscious. I strive to realise this idea with my own forms of symbolism and representation.
‘Glass Vortex’ by Phil Vickery.
What is your favourite tool or piece of equipment and why?
I have two different things, one from each of my preferred techniques. My jacks from Ivan Smith are my best hot glass tools! They are my favourites as they are the best tools in the world, and they are no longer available as the maker died. Early on in my professional life, I had the pleasure of travelling to see Ivan in person to commission the tools and he even drew around my hands to custom fit them personally to me!
My favourite piece of equipment from cold working is my relatively new diamond flatbed. This was imported from His Glassworks in America. It has made my practice much more professional as it polishes perfectly flat and true. It has provided an upgrade to my cold working, in effect.
Do you have a favourite piece you have made? Why is it your favourite?
I don’t have a specific piece that I could call my favourite, but I would say that some of the best sculptures that I have made are from the ‘Thoughts’ range. I feel that they have the most context and are the most contemporary. They have more substance to them, and I feel they are my best work.
Another piece from the ‘Thoughts’ range showing textured facets.
Where do you show and sell your work?
I show my work mostly in galleries in the UK and around the world and I occasionally take part in glass exhibitions. In recent years the glass world seems to have shrunk, particularly in the UK, and so the places I show work have shrunk too.
Nature – and the sea in particular – are strong influences on Phil’s creative practice. This is ‘Faceted Vortex Wave’ in blue.
What advice would you give to someone starting out on a career in glass?
My advice would be to get as much experience as possible, and just keep working at it!
Do you have a career highlight?
The highlight of my career was when I was chosen for one of five Honorary Diplomas of the Jutta Cuny – Franz Foundation, Germany, in 2011. A close second was when I was a winner and recipient of the Renwick Award for Distinction in Glass, from Washington DC, USA, in 2009.
Where is your glass practice heading next?
I hope to continue my glass practice in the North East of the UK, but things are not looking great. The place I hire to blow glass, the National Glass Centre (NGC), is soon to be closed down. Like many glass studios in the UK, they are finding it hard to keep going, mainly because of the huge expenses they incur for energy, and materials. Across the UK glass courses are closing down, too, so I do have my worries about the future of my business and the UK glass world in general, but I will do my best to keep going!
And finally…
If you want to support the campaign to save the NGC then please sign the petition here.
About the artist
Phil Vickery with some of his ‘Vortex Pod Sculptures’.
Phil Vickery holds an honours degree in Glass Design (Major) and Photography (Minor) from the University of Wolverhampton. He gained a postgraduate qualification from the International Glass Centre, Brierley Hill: ‘Glass: Professional Development. Prof dev level 5’. While at Brierley Hill he won the Frederick Stuart memorial fund for ‘Best Blown Glass’. After this he won a scholarship residency at the Red House Glass Cone from 2002 to 2004.
In 2004-2005 he was an artist in residence at the Surrey Institute of Art and Design (Farnham University) where he taught basic glass blowing skills and assisted Colin Webster. While there he was sort-listed for the Glass Sellers Award, 2005.
In 2006 Phil achieved a Master of Arts; Glass with distinction at the University of Sunderland, where he became the artist in residence, and teaching assistant to Colin Rennie (UK), Jeffery Sarmiento (US), and Scott Chasling (AU).
He has won various awards for his glass work and in 2016 opened his own cold working studio in Sunderland with his partner.
Find out more about Phil Vickery and his work via his website, Facebook or Instagram: @philvickeryglass
S12 Gallery and Workshop in Bergen, Norway, are inviting applications for artist residencies from August to December 2023. Two 2-4 week residencies are available and one of them should be for a project focused on light.
Both Norwegian and international artists working in all fields, who can make use of the equipment in the S12 workshop, are welcome to apply.
S12 provides a fully equipped glass workshop for both hot and cold glass processes. See a full list of equipment here. The programme offers some workshop assistance, depending on the kind of work being made. Use of the workshop is free, and free accommodation is also provided.
The selected artists will have the opportunity to present their work at an open house event/artist talk. The artist working with light will be offered the possibility to show the work in the S12 gallery in December 2023.
Artists, designers and makers worldwide are invited to apply for the sixth John Ruskin Prize, which has the theme of ‘Seeing the Unseen, Hearing the Unspoken’ this time.
The John Ruskin Prize aims to attract entries from a wide range of artists and makers celebrating creativity in all mediums, encompassing all forms of glasswork, drawing, painting, print, sculpture, photography, textiles, animation, digital art, performance, installation and mixed media art, among others.
Up to 40 artists will be selected to show their work in an exhibition at Trinity Buoy Wharf in London from 1 to 18 February 2024.
A total of £8,000 in prize money will be divided between the award winners, who will be announced on 31 January 2024.
Five winners will be chosen by a selection panel for the following prizes:
1st Prize: £3,000
2nd Prize: £2,000
The Alan Davidson Under 26 Prize: £1,000
The International Prize: £1,000
The 2024 Kate Mason Prize for Innovation: £1,000.
For the first time, The John Ruskin Prize is open to international entries, allowing artists, designers, and makers working outside the UK to participate and receive a dedicated prize, worth £1,000. Submissions for this category must be digital, as the judging will be conducted digitally, eliminating the need to ship physical artworks for exhibition.
Works can be recent creations, or up to three years old, as long as they represent or interpret the theme of the exhibition. Individual artists, designers and collectives are all eligible to apply.
Presented by The Guild of St George and visual literacy charity The Big Draw, The John Ruskin Prize upholds the values of John Ruskin, the radical 19th-century writer, art critic, polymath and advocate for art’s power to reveal universal truths. This uniquely multi-disciplinary prize offers a platform for artists to explore and challenge artistic boundaries while honouring Ruskin’s influential legacy of recognising and supporting artists, designers, and makers who defy categorisation and embrace interdisciplinary practices.
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 three fantastic glass artists based in Scotland, who will talk about their work, as well as an international artist who will present via Zoom.
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 include Juli Bolaños-Durman, Dr Choi Keeryong and Koen Vanmechelen.
Programme for the day:
9.30am Registration and coffee (provided)
10.00am Welcome by Dr Jessamy Kelly from 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 and demonstrations
1.55pm Demonstrations end
2.05pm Walk back to University
2.15pm Talk (speaker TBC)
3.15pm Tea and coffee (provided)
3.30pm Talk by Koen Vanmechelen
4.30pm Farewell
4.45pm 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.
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