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An emotional response

Tali Grinshpan’s delicate glass work is inspired by both nature and her life experiences. She particularly draws on her own feelings as an immigrant to the USA – and the conversations she has had with others in the same situation. Linda Banks finds out more

What led you to start working with glass?

I have always loved working with my hands. Even as a child, I loved spending hours in art classes and exploring. Over many years, I have worked with clay, wood, metal and fibre.

My grandparents had many beautiful glass objects in their home. I spent hours looking at these glass sculptures, watching what happened to light as it moved through them, and how their colours changed.

An opportunity to work with glass came in 2012. After moving to California, I was looking for an art class so that I could explore with my hands again. I took a fusing class at the community art centre in my town. Very quickly glass became an obsession: I had found a medium that spoke to me on many levels – emotionally, visually and intellectually.

‘Yearn’ is made from pate de verre highlighted with 24k gold leaf. Photo: Keay Edwards.

What glass techniques have you used, and which do you prefer?

When I started working with glass, I wanted to explore and experience every possible way of working with this fascinating material, so I took blowing, flame working, casting and mosaic classes.

After realising my main interest lay in kiln forming, I used many different techniques, such as painting with powders and enamels, screen printing, pot melts, and a variety of casting methods. I also continually explored in my studio. After learning how to work with the material, I experimented with pate de verre in my studio, while also taking pate de verre classes. I recognised that this would be the beginning of a long journey of exploration.

‘Homeland I’ comprises pate de verre, 24k gold leaf and enamel on a wooden base. Photo: Keay Edwards.

What is your creative approach? Do you draw your ideas out or dive straight in with the materials?

Usually, I start with a concept, sketching and writing my thoughts, and researching. Often, I build models that give me a sense of the size and the shapes I want to work with and that allow me to play and explore freely. The next step is moving to the glass and making the work. I plan about 70% and 30% is unknown and improvised.

Another important part of my creative process involves hiking in nature. Hiking helps me organise and clarify my thoughts about the process and the possible results.

What inspires your work?

A lot of my inspiration comes from nature, and its ever-changing cycles. My own life experience and heritage are a big source of inspiration, as well as childhood memories and dreams. Another source of inspiration is my education. With a BA and MA in Psychology, I am fascinated with the wide range of human emotions, and I try to capture and articulate these emotions in my work, using the remarkable properties of glass.

Some of those emotions have to do with being an immigrant and meeting other immigrants. Since moving to the United States in 2004, I have had many conversations with immigrants. These conversations, and my own experience, inspire me to create works that explore my, and their, emotional experiences.

‘Seeds of Hope’ features pate de verre and mixed media. Photo: Keay Edwards.

What message(s) do you want to convey through your art? 

As a universal language, art can bring people together to a place of reflection. I examine the human condition, utilising glass as an analogy while challenging the material in different ways. Through materials I speak in ways I can’t, or don’t want to, in words.

For the past five years my work has focused on the immigrant experience. I explore the concept of identity, hoping to create intimate spaces that speak of our emotional existence and life’s ephemeral journey. I want to tell a story of fragility and strength, vulnerability, and resilience. And I hope to bring awareness that may lead to a conversation about a complex and difficult subject like immigration.

‘Tashlich (To cast away)’ is created from pate de verre and acrylic paint. Photo: Keay Edwards.

What is your favourite tool or piece of equipment and why?

My spatulas and my brushes are the tools I use most; I cannot do my work without them.

Do you have a favourite piece you have made? Why is it your favourite?

A favourite piece is called ‘Promises’. it was a breakthrough moment for me when I felt I finally found a way to express my thoughts and feelings through an object in a very clear way. This was also the piece that was selected for New Glass Review 39, published by the Corning Museum of Glass.

In answering this question, I realise that this is like asking me which of my children I like best. Every piece I work on is my favourite and I love them all equally. With each piece I have a different connection, and I go on a different journey from start to finish. Each piece holds a part of me as it also becomes a part of me. I learn from every one.

However, ‘Promises’ was a breakthrough piece that opened the doors to creating many other pieces.

The piece ‘Promises’ is a favourite of Tali’s and opened up new design opportunities. It is constructed from pate de verre glass and mixed media. Photo: Keay Edwards.

Where do you show and sell your work?

My work is included in numerous private collections and is exhibited in galleries and museums such as Museum of Glass Kanazawa, Japan, the Imagine Museum, Boise Art Museum, Grand Rapids Art Museum, and Tacoma Museum of Glass in the USA, plus the National Gallery in Sophia, Bulgaria, Qingdao Art Museum, China, and Eretz Israel Museum in Tel Aviv, Israel.

A few pieces are currently being exhibited at the San Jose City Hall and at the Craft Forms exhibit in Wayne, Pennsylvania, USA.

What advice would you give to someone starting out on a career in glass?

Be prepared to work hard, believe in yourself: a career in art is not a straight line. It is a life-long journey.

Do you have a career highlight?

In 2022 the Qingdao Art Museum in China acquired one of my pieces for its permanent collection; this was very exciting.

Where is your glass practice heading next?

I am in the process of creating a new body of work. I am also working on developing opportunities to curate exhibitions that will educate and promote the art of pate de verre.

‘Where the Heart is’ features pate de verre and casting and is made from glass, 24k gold leaf and enamel. Photo: Keay Edwards.

Is the global energy crisis affecting your practice?

Probably not as much as other parts of the world. But the main effects of the energy crisis on my practice are the higher electrical bills and the rising prices of glass materials.

‘Secrets V’ is made from pate de verre and mixed media. Photo: Keay Edwards.

And finally…

I am very grateful to be a part of the glass art community at a time when we are discovering so many new ways of working with this remarkable material that comes from sand. A funny fact: I lived my childhood in Holon, a city located on the central coastal strip of Israel, south of Tel Aviv. The name Holon was chosen to reflect the sand dunes on which it was built: ‘hol’ in Hebrew means ‘sand’. Today, most of those dunes are gone, replaced by buildings. But I remember the feeling of the sand in my hands, accumulating in my shoes, getting in my hair, my eyes, my mouth. This sand was an integral part of my childhood. Now I work with silica, a basic element of glass, connecting my early memories of these now disappearing dunes to the present.

‘Regret’ is created from pate de verre and gold leaf. Photo: Keay Edwards.

About the artist

Tali Grinshpan at work in her studio. Photo: Jonathan Boykin.

Born and raised in Israel, Tali Grinshpan now lives in Walnut Creek, California, USA.

She has been studying glass since 2012, taking workshops at Pilchuck Glass School, Corning Museum of Glass, Pittsburgh Glass Centre and Bullseye Resource Centres in the USA, as well as North Lands Creative in Scotland.

In 2016 her work was selected as a finalist at The International Exhibition of Glass, Kanazawa, Japan. She was also the first prize winner of The Glass Prize 2017 international competition, UK. In 2019 her second solo exhibition, ‘Longing for the (Home)land’ opened at Bullseye Gallery in the Bay Area, California, USA. In February 2020 she curated an exhibition called ‘Particles’ at Abrams Claghorn Gallery in Albany, USA. In 2022 her piece ‘Homeland I’ was awarded the first place at the Glass Art Society exhibition at the Museum of Glass in Tacoma, USA.

Find out more about Tali and her work via her website.

Main feature image: ‘Somewhere’ is made from pate de verre, with 24k gold leaf and enamel. Photo: Keay Edwards.

Students invited to enter ‘Making Your Mark’ glass engraving competition

Students of any age enrolled on a course of at least 15 hours a week can submit their designs for the second ‘Making Your Mark’ online exhibition, run by the Guild of Glass Engravers.

Submitted work must include surface decoration on any piece of glass, using either diamond point or handscriber, drill, sandblast, acid etch or wheel engraving. Graal techniques are admissible.

Making Your Mark is an Instagram-based exhibition of works created by students based in the UK and overseas. It will go live in March 2023.

In addition, The David Peace Prize will be awarded to the student whose submitted work, in the opinion of the judges, shows the greatest talent and originality in the use of engraving on glass. The decision of the judges will be made from the images submitted.

The David Peace Prize is endowed by a bequest from the estate of founding member of the Guild of Glass Engravers, the late Dr David Peace MBE and a bursary from his family. David Peace, past Chairman and President, was noted for his lettering on glass. He believed in encouraging young talent in glass – not only in the field of lettering, but also figurative and abstract artists.

The first prize will be £500 and the second prize will be £200. Both prizes include free student membership of The Guild of Glass Engravers for one year.

The deadline for applications has been extended since we first publicised this in 2022 and is now 28 February 2023.

Further information and an application pack are available here.

 

Image: ‘Glass Graffiti’, by Christian Straub (2021), the Winner of the David Peace Prize 2021.

IYOG 2022 announces ‘7 Glass Wonders of the World’

Many events highlighting glass were held around the globe during the UN-designated International Year of Glass (IYOG) 2022. One of the actions taken by the organising committee was to ask for nominations for ‘7 Glass Wonders of the World’.

These ‘7 Glass Wonders of the World’ would be seven objects, buildings, or places where glass had a ‘fundamental’ role.

More than 50 proposals, submitted by regional organisations from each continent, were assessed for originality, innovative character, plus historical, cultural and industrial character. The winners were announced at the IYOG closing conference and ceremony at the University of Tokyo in Japan on 9 December 2022.

The initiative was coordinated by Teresa Palomar, a researcher from VICARTE (Portugal) and ICV-CSIC (Spain), and the South Africa-based glass artist Lothar Böttcher. Glass professionals from the arts, architecture, science and industry formed the prestigious international jury.

After weeks of deliberation, the jury named the following 7 Glass Wonders, which are also unveiled in this video.

They are:

Glass from the Tomb of Tutankhamun, currently at the Egyptian Museum, Cairo, and, from 2023, also at the Grand Egyptian Museum, Gizeh (Egypt).

Lycurgus Cup at The British Museum, London. This cup displays a miraculous coluor effect. Under normal lighting, the glass appears jade green, but when lit from behind, it turns ruby red. Scientists found that this phenomenon is due to gold and silver nanoparticles in the glass. The cup is a cage cup, one of the most luxurious glass vessels of Roman times.

Sainte-Chapelle in Paris, France. Stained glass windows are often prominent in Gothic cathedrals, but in no other medieval building are the windows as dominant as in the Sainte-Chapelle. It was commissioned by King Louis IX of France as the royal chapel and built from 1242 to its consecration on 26 April 1248. Nearly two-thirds are still the original glass panes dating back nearly 800 years.

The Ware Collection of Blaschka Glass Models of Plants at Harvard University in the US. Leopold (1822–1895) and Rudolf Blaschka (1857–1939) were a father-and-son team of Bohemian glass artists active in Dresden, Germany. From 1886 to 1936, they produced 4,300 glass models that represent 780 plant species in finest detail.

The Corning Museum of Glass in New York, US. The largest glass collection in the world, combined with a library that seeks to build a comprehensive collection of books, archival, and rare materials about glass, and a studio where artists teach their art of glassmaking. The Museum opened its doors in the Finger Lakes region of upstate New York in 1951. Despite its distance from large cities, it welcomes more than a quarter of a million visitors from all over the world each year.

Optical Fibres. A glass rod, when heated, can be pulled into an ever-thinner and seemingly endless glass thread. In the 1960s, researchers set the stage for a technological revolution, and since the 1970s, glass fibres about as thick as a human hair have been used to transport huge quantities of information, functioning, in simple terms, as light bouncing in a tube.

Hubble Space Telescope. The first dedicated observatory was launched and deployed into orbit by the space shuttle Discovery on 24 April 1990. Two mirrors of ultra-low expansion glass give Hubble its optical capabilities. A primary glass mirror of 2.4 m diameter and weighing approximately 800 kg reflects its light on the 0.3 m secondary mirror. Hubble has revealed crystal clear views of our universe and has made more than 1.5 million observations during its 30 years of service.

Following the IYOG closing ceremony in Japan there was a final debriefing meeting at the UN headquarters in New York, US, on 14 December 2022. This event reviewed the impact of the many events held throughout 2022 and future implications for the world of glass. Watch the full debriefing session in this video.

New city centre home being explored for reimagined National Glass Centre

The University of Sunderland is working with its partners Sunderland City Council and Sunderland Culture to explore new city centre locations for the National Glass Centre (NGC).

The NGC has been owned by the University since 2010 and is also home to the Northern Gallery of Contemporary Art (NGCA) and the University’s glass and ceramics academic programmes.

In recent years, the University has needed to undertake a series of works to address structural-related issues in the NGC, including the closure of public access to the roof.

Now, a specialist external review – commissioned by the University – has concluded that a multi-million-pound investment would be required to address these issues if the NGC were to remain at its current riverside location.

As a result, the University’s Board of Governors has decided that the best way forward is to find an alternative location – or locations – for the NGC.

The University is actively exploring a variety of options which would put a reimagined National Glass Centre at the heart of Sunderland’s cultural regeneration, with the potential to reach new and larger audiences and is working with key partners, including Sunderland City Council and Sunderland Culture to establish suitable sites. Culture House is one of the sites being discussed.

The NGC is working with staff to carry out a thorough assessment of the equipment and facilities that would be required to support academic activity in glass and ceramics in another building and the associated cost implications. The outcome of this work will be reviewed by the University Executive, with a recommendation on next steps being made to the Board of Governors in due course.

Sir David Bell, Vice-Chancellor and Chief Executive said: “The University is committed, as far as it is practically possible and viable, to maintaining within the city the exhibition and display of glass art, alongside academic work in glass and ceramics. As well as undertaking internal review work on these matters, we are also in active discussion with Sunderland City Council about alternative locations for the activities currently undertaken within the NGC and NGCA. Hopefully, we will have more details to share in the coming months.

“I recognise this is an uncertain time for staff and students based at the NGC, but we need to act now, given that the University is not in a position to spend the millions of pounds required to secure the longer-term future of the current NGC building.”

Linda Williams, Sunderland City Council’s Vibrant City Councillor, said: “Across the city we have an excellent cultural and heritage offer, and really strong partnerships through which to continue to grow and develop that offer. Plans for Culture House are beginning to take shape – an exciting major new investment now underway at the heart of the city for residents and visitors alike.

“We are working closely with the University to explore whether becoming part of Culture House provides the best opportunity for the next generation of the much-loved National Glass Centre – one of our key cultural assets – to continue to grow and thrive in Sunderland for generations to come.”

Rebecca Ball, Chief Executive of Sunderland Culture said: “The National Glass Centre has sealed Sunderland’s reputation as one of the leading hubs for glass-making in the UK. Over many decades, through the work of the University and other partners, the city has become a centre of excellence and innovation in this area. The significant costs associated with the repair, maintenance and operation of the current building, however, pose undeniable challenges.

“Sunderland Culture is committed to working with the University to explore an alternative future home for the National Glass Centre in order to ensure future generations can continue to experience the beauty, wonder and creativity of making art in glass.”

The University hopes the move to a new location(s) will be concluded within three years. Until then, the intention is for the National Glass Centre to remain at its current home and continue to operate as usual.

Image: The NGC building is an imposing landmark on the north bank of the River Wear.

Chen Peiper’s glass displayed in Venice

Israel-based glass artist Chen Peiper created the installation ‘Covitrum’ as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The work, exhibited at the ‘Personal Structures – Reflections’ show at the Venice 2022 Art Biennial, is a series of unrecognisable portraits, none of which shows gender, age, skin colour, or country of origin.

Covitrum comprises 13 ‘man-sized’ portraits of about 30cm x 30cm, along with five ‘child-size’ portraits. The total of 18 is significant because in gematria – the assignation of numeric values to Hebrew letters – the number 18 means ‘chai’, or ‘life’.

The faces of the installation are universal and at the same time they are all different: the masks they wear reflect each person’s need to express their personality and individualism.

Chen made a conscious decision to keep the faces almost identical; they do not show identity or gender, but only express emotions. Viewers contemplating the work notice these emotions, and that humanises the masked faces. The masks, however, are all very different. Chen treats each face and its mask as a whole, but allows the viewers to switch masks in their imagination.

As the show guide notes, ‘The mask is a tool of pretence and protection, and it allows introspection; it gives the artist a creative space in which she chooses whether to hide or to reveal identity or feelings. Chen chose to tell her story on each mask. But, as always in art, the viewers can tell themselves completely different stories.’

Refugees

In addition, during ‘The Italian Glass Weeks’, held in Milan and Venice in September 2022, Chen showed her work ‘Refugees’ (‘Rfugiati’) at the Pallazo Loredan.

‘Refugees’ by Chen Peiper uses glass and mixed media to express the plight of people fleeing their homes by sea.

This piece is a sensitive response to the experience of people who have fled their countries across wild seas in inhuman conditions.

Chen explains, “The colours of the sky and the sea and, in between, human beings. This is the essence of the work ‘Refugees’. The sea is their last refuge. The use of the magnifying glass and a ‘net of hope’ overwhelms this global problem. Images emerge from countless events of refugees at sea, on their way in search of a safe haven.”

Chen Peiper is a multidisciplinary artist who designs jewellery and sculptures using materials such as gold, silver, stainless steel, aluminium and copper. In the recent years she has started combining glass and metal in her works.

Find out more here.

Main image: ‘Covitrum’ by Chen Peiper, which was displayed in Venice, Italy in 2022.

A window into contemporary glass in Southern Africa

South African glass artists and educators marked the United Nations’ International Year of Glass through a series of exhibitions and symposia throughout 2022. These events showcased the history and current status of glass practice in the country. Here the organising committee detail how they put glass at the forefront during this exciting year.

A lot of work and energy flowed into making glass more visible around the globe during the United Nations’ International Year of Glass in 2022, and Southern Africa was no exception!

‘Wing’ by Barbara Ewing.

Although glass heritage is not as prominent in Southern Africa, compared to Europe and the US, hundreds of hours were invested to showcase contemporary glass through the year. Artists, industry and academia came together, with the Tshwane University of Technology (TUT) taking centre stage. This institution sits at the apex of the Southern African creative glass industry and is where the past, present and future converge. It is the only tertiary institution in sub-Saharan Africa offering training in glass as a creative medium.

‘Mycelium’ by Fanus Boshoff.

Fired Up!

Several exhibitions were held in South Africa to promote our diverse glass practices. Of these the group exhibition ‘Fired Up! – Celebrating Southern African Glass Art’, was the most significant. It was held at the Pretoria Art Museum and curated by glass artist Lothar Böttcher.

The Fired Up! exhibition wove a thread from the beginning of glassmaking in the Southern African region through to present day practices by renowned contemporary glass artists. WITS University Origins Centre highlighted the early history of glass in Southern Africa, revealing how glass beads produced in the first furnaces on the tip of Africa were used as currency in continental trade routes. Some of the beads exhibited included the original moulds used during manufacture, excavated from the ancient Iron Age city of Mapungubwe.

‘Umphakatsi (Royal Kraal)’ by James Magagula.

Fired Up! Also chronicled the stories of pioneers and torchbearers in the hand-made glass industry of Southern Africa. Top contemporary glass artists exhibiting were: Fanus Boshoff, Lothar Böttcher, Anslem Croze (Kitengela Glass, Kenya), Barbara Ewing, Caitlin Greenberg, Martli Jansen van Rensburg, James Magagula (Ngwenya Glass, Eswatini), Ryan Manuel, Sue Meyer, Sibusiso Mhlanga (Ngwenya Glass, Eswatini), Stephen Mofokeng, Kgotso Pati, David Reade, Nicole Rowe, Guido van Besouw, and Retief van Wyk.

The full, 68-page Fired Up! catalogue can be viewed here.

‘Project Silica’ by Nicole Rowe.

In addition, Fired Up! hosted a Glass Symposium at TUT, with invited guest lecturers discussing topics including archaeology and ancient trade routes, industrial glass manufacture, glass in African architecture, plus sustainable glass and the circular economy. The full presentation video can be viewed here: Fired Up! Glass Symposium

Next generation

The ‘Next Generation’ exhibition, held at the Viewing Room Art Gallery, Pretoria, South Africa, consisted of glass works by students, lecturers and alumni from TUT’s Faculty of Arts and Design. Curated by Martli Jansen van Rensburg and Caitlin Greenberg, it brought the work of many diverse artists together in an exceptional show. This allowed students to exhibit alongside established names, affording a broad spectrum of glass makers an opportunity to mingle and exchange ideas. Students had the opportunity to sell their works to collectors, thus encouraging their passion towards glass as a medium and strengthening their trajectory in the glass-art industry.

‘Forgiving Rocks – Scars’ by Martli Jansen van Resnburg.

The TUT Faculty Arts and Design, department of Fine and Studio Arts’ glass studio affords students the opportunity to learn about glass through a variety of techniques; it has a furnace and hot shop, several kilns for warm glass, fusing and casting glass, flame work, and a comprehensive cold shop.

‘Glacier Vases’ by David Reade.

Glass became an official elective subject within the former Pretoria Tecknikon, Fine and Applied Art diploma in 1996 through the efforts of Ian Redelinghuys (head of the Fine Art Department) and Retief van Wyk (lecturer). This was made possible with the help of Wolverhampton University and glass artist, David Reade. David Reade trained under Michael Harris on the Isle of Wight in the UK in the 1970s, moving to South Africa in 1984. The glass studio has been run by former alumna, Caitlin Greenberg, since 2019.

‘Unspoken Thoughts’ by Caitlin Greenberg.

More glass…

Several smaller events took place in the International Year of Glass, too. For example, Lothar Böttcher’s solo exhibition, ‘Precious Beasts’, opened at Ebony Curated in Franschhoek, Western Cape. Years of dedication as a cold worker and protagonist for glass as a medium of art culminated in this exquisite collection of carved, cut and polished figurines and sculptures.

‘Piece of cake’ by Lothar Böttcher.

Martli Jansen van Rensburg’s solo exhibition ‘Ruach’ at Terra Contemporary, Pretoria explored her personal journey as an artist, touching on themes of memories and loss. Read more about this exhibition here.

In addition, the Melrose House Museum in Pretoria exhibited its magnificent collection of Victorian glass, offering a window into colonial influences on South African culture.

The future of glass in Southern Africa

Thanks to the events held during the year of glass, a solid foundation has been laid. Artists, and an interested public, were able to explore the possibilities of glass. New networks were established, especially between TUT and Ngwenya Glass. Master blowers Sibusiso Mhlanga and James Magagula shared their knowledge with the students and offered collaborative workshops with other artists.

Sibusiso Mhlanga and James Magagula of Ngwenya Glass demonstrating their glass skills at TUT.

These ground-breaking events have the potential to foster a new generation of glassmakers and glass lovers. Artists saw the potential of joining hands, to strengthen interdisciplinary networks, share skills and knowledge.

In our current tumultuous world, the business of glass as an art, and creative endeavour, are experiencing difficult times. The foundation built during the International Year of Glass and the energy of those events must be channelled to support an environment where glass can flourish as an equitable and sustainable expression of our times.

Fired Up! and its associated events were made possible through funding from the International Year of Glass as well as the unwavering support and work of the Fired Up! committee, consisting of Lothar Böttcher (artist and curator), Chas Prettejohn (Ngwenya Glass, Eswatini), Caitlin Greenberg (TUT Glass Department) and Martli Jansen van Rensburg (artist).

The Fired Up! team (left to right): Chas Prettejohn, Martli Jansen van Rensburg, Caitlin Greenberg and Lothar Böttcher.

Main image: ‘Orange Bloom “Evolved”‘ by Ryan Manuel.

In the Making exhibition at Glasmuseet Ebeltoft

Launching on 14 January 2023, the In the Making exhibition at Denmark’s Glasmuseet Ebeltoft showcases the creative processes of 10 younger glass artists.

The exhibition explains how wild ideas are transformed into artistic reality. Alongside this, visitors will have the opportunity to be creative, with three lucky visitors having their drawings transformed into glass in the museum’s studio.

The artists represented present a wide range of works on many themes, from experimental and material-based practices with Ida Wieth and Johanne Jahncke, to studies of expressions of nature and raw materials with Morten Klitgaard and Lise Eggers.

Karen Nyholm creates figurative stories about magical beings, Aoife Soden dives into maritime symbols and sailor tattoos, while Marie Retpen explores the imperfect body. Meanwhile, Jonas Noël Niedermann plays with the optical qualities of glass, Bjørn Friborg works with sculptural ‘implosions’, and Tobias Sode throws himself into new artistic expressions based on the Tetris computer game.

Chalk drawings and notes on blackboards convey the artistic process and give visitors an insight into sources of inspiration, considerations, experiments and methods. In many glass studios, artists draw sketches with chalk before starting to work with the hot glass. This method of communication is also designed to inspire the audience to engage creatively in the exhibition and make their own chalk drawings.

The artists in the exhibition have all received the Finn Lynggaard Grant, which has been awarded by The Finn Lynggaard Foundation annually since 2010, when the founder of the glass museum, Finn Lynggaard, was 80.

The award has provided a grant to a practising glass artist every year on Finn Lynggaard’s birthday to be used for further education or a study trip.

In the Making marks the closure of The Finn Lynggaard Foundation.

The exhibition is on until 16 April 2023.

Glasmuseet Ebeltoft is at Strandvejen 8, DK-8400 Ebeltoft, Denmark.

Find out more via the website.

Image: Ida Wieth demonstrating her making process. Photo: Kåre Viemose.

CGS raffle raises almost £2k

Each year the Contemporary Glass Society (CGS) holds a fundraising raffle. This is an important way to support the CGS to put on its many events. Plus purchasers have the chance to win one of a selection of unique, glass-related prizes.

The 2022 raffle raised nearly £2,000 towards the CGS’s anniversary year events, and the committee wish to thank all the artists who generously gave their work, as well as all those who bought tickets.

Artists who donated this time included Charlie McPherson, who donated the impressive bowl shown in the image, Amanda Simmons, and Adam Aaronson, plus several CGS members. There was also the chance to win a sketch by US glass master, Dale Chihuly.

There were 15 winners in total, with Helen Johnson winning Charlie’s bowl. Peter Austin won Dale Chihuly’s drawing, Pam Fyvie won Amanda Simmons’ piece, and Sarah Stutchfield won Adam Aaronson’s. Carol Barlow won Dan Klein’s book donated by Alan J Poole, and other winners were Hannah Gibson, Hannah Facey, Helen Stokes, Katharyn S-R, Kate Pasvol, Angela Ashton, Debbie March, Paul Cameron, Dot Hill and A Popkin.

Thanks again to everyone who bought tickets.

Image: The bowl donated by Charlie Macpherson.

Sculpting history

Glass artist Amber Cowan captures the past in her detailed dioramas in vintage colours that are inspired by, and incorporate, glass from now closed US factories. Linda Banks finds out more.

What led you to start working with glass?

I have had a fascination with glass since I was a child. I remember buying my mother glass presents and jewellery and have always been drawn to little glass animals.

What glass techniques have you used and which do you prefer?

I started out learning traditional hot shop glassblowing as an art student at Salisbury University in the US. For my work now I am primarily a flameworker. I still occasionally blow glass in the hot shop, but most of my work time is spent flameworking. I also do a bit of fusing, which is incorporated in my work. I also use coldworking when necessary, but it is not my favourite technique.

‘Fountain with Fans in River and Jade’ (2022) is made from flame worked pressed glass cullet, found and sought antique glass, blown glass and mixed media.

You use a lot of old and end-of-line pressed glass in your work. How did this come about and why is this important to you?

I started working with this kind of glass in graduate school at Tyler School of Art. It was initially a financial decision because I found a barrel of this type of old cullet available and free in storage at the school. I then went down the rabbit hole as I decided to find out where this glass came from and dived into the history of the material. This discovery led to my next 10-plus years of work and a fascination with the history of this material. There is a rich history of glassmaking in the US and a lot of this is being forgotten as the factories have closed. I think it is important to remember this history, the patterns of the moulds, and the colours that were created. My work gives this kind of glass a new story and a new place in history.

‘Cherries in Milk with Creamer and Compote’ (2022).

What is your creative approach? Do you draw your ideas out or dive straight in with the materials?

I usually start with the raw materials and colours that I find in the cullet. Then I start to search for what original pieces were created in those colours. I do deep dives on the internet, sift through flea markets and antique stores, and get a lot of donations from strangers and friends. Most of my process is labour-intensive flameworking, making a lot of organic shapes, from flowers to feathers, pearls and leaves. Once I have the bulk of the flameworked material created and the special elements picked out, I start arranging the composition. It is almost like composing a flower arrangement.

Detail of ‘Pen and Cygnet Swimming in Sky’ (2022).

What message(s) do you want to convey through your art? 

I am inspired by the vintage colours that I work with and the objects that were originally produced with them. More often my diorama-style pieces aim to animate the glass, whether that is birds or butterflies hovering over the work, an animal or figurine animating the piece, or the dripping of a fountain, where the glass is melting out of the piece. I aspire to tell animated stories with the work.

I also take elements from my travels and personal life into the narratives and imagine them into surreal compositions.

What is your favourite tool or piece of equipment and why?

I could not make my work without my bonsai shears. Almost all of the flameworked pieces, especially the feathers which I utilise a lot, are created by cutting the hot glass with bonsai shears.

Do you have a favourite piece you have made? Why is it your favourite?

I really love the piece ‘Bridesmaid’s Search for the Desert Rose’. I feel that my ideas and my technical abilities really came together with this piece, capturing my life at that moment.

‘Bridesmaid’s Search for the Desert Rose’ (2018).

Where do you show and sell your work?

I mainly sell my work through Heller Gallery in New York. I also have some work at Momentum Gallery in Asheville, North Carolina, and Habatat Gallery in Michigan. My work is in many public museum collections throughout the US.

What advice would you give to someone starting out on a career in glass?

The harder you work the luckier you get. Being successful in art is not necessarily about ‘talent’; it is about your dedication, work ethic and commitment to your practice.

Do you have a career highlight?

In 2021 I received a United States Artists Fellowship in Crafts. My other fellows in the category were truly phenomenal artists and I was very proud to be a part of that group and to receive that honour.

Detail of ‘Hummingbirds Feast on Helio and Lavender’ (2021).

Where is your glass practice heading next?

I am hoping that my work will keep trending towards crossing over into the art world in general – not just the glass or craft worlds. I am very much a glass artist, and my work is about the history of the material, but it is nice to be appreciated for the work regardless of the material.

Is the global energy crisis affecting your practice?

Not exactly. I have obviously seen an increase in the prices of some of my supplies, but my energy consumption in creating my work is pretty low.

And finally…

I will have a show opening in April 2023 at The Museum of American Glass at Wheaton Arts in New Jersey. I am also teaching a torch and flameworking course at North Lands Creative in Scotland in August 2023.

About the artist

Amber Cowan is inspired by the vintage colours used by the glass factories of the past.

Amber Cowan’s sculptural glasswork is based around the use of recycled, upcycled, and second-life American pressed glass. She uses the process of flameworking, hot-sculpting and glassblowing to create large-scale sculptures that overwhelm the viewer with ornate abstraction and viral accrual. With an instinctive nature towards horror vacui, her pieces reference memory, domesticity and the loss of an industry through the re-use of common items from the aesthetic dustbin of American design.

Her recent diorama-style pieces tell stories of self-discovery, escapism and the power of the feminine utilising figurines and animals found in collected antique glass pieces. These figurines become recurring symbols in the evolving narrative and simultaneously pay homage to the history of US glassmaking.

Find out more via her website: www.ambercowan.com

All photos by Matthew Hollerbush.

Main image: Detail of the top section of Amber Cowan’s ‘Hummingbirds Feast on Helio and Lavender’ (2021)

New round of QEST funding for craftspeople

Applications open on 9 January 2023 for the next round of funding for craftspeople from the Queen Elizabeth Scholarship Trust (QEST).

QEST awards scholarship and apprenticeship funding of up to £18,000 to talented and aspiring craftspeople with a broad range of skills, including glassblowing and other glass-related fields, farriery, jewellery design, silversmithing, dry stone walling,  cheese maturing, sculpture and many more.

QEST looks to support successful applicants to further their practice, by funding such things as training, courses, international placements, plus attendance at conferences and exhibitions.

Many glass artists have received support from QEST over the years, the most recent being Laura Quinn and Andrea Spencer. Read more about their plans for their awards here.

The next application round is open from 9 January – 12 February 2023.

QEST celebrated its 30th anniversary in 2020 and since 1990 has awarded over £5.4 million to 700 individuals working in over 130 different crafts. It defines craft broadly and welcomes applications from all areas.

A directory of all past alumni, plus more details on how to apply, are available on the website: www.qest.org.uk.