Two glass artists have been awarded Queen Elizabeth Scholarship Trust (QEST) Scholarships in the latest round of grants.
The successful entrants are Andrea Spencer and Laura Quinn.
Based in Northern Ireland, Andrea Spencer is a glass artist who finds inspiration in nature and investigates natural forms, which are either transformed into symbolic objects or abstracted to create artworks with a personal narrative. Using both traditional and innovative techniques of flameworking glass, her work possess qualities that reflect the intricacies of the natural world and contain elements that highlight its beauty and transience.
QEST funding will enable Andrea to develop her skills with master flameworker Eric Goldschmidt in Corning, New York, attend the International Flameworking Conference in New Jersey and undertake a research trip to Harvard University to study the internationally-acclaimed Ware Collection of Blaschka flameworked Glass Models. These experiences will enhance her existing knowledge and skills, allowing her to broaden the range of work she can produce at the torch and expand the range of workshops she can offer other artists. Find out more about her work on her website.
Laura Quinn creates interactive glass sculptures that encourage the audience to reconsider their perceived constraints of the material. She combines traditional glass making techniques such as glass blowing and lampworking, with digital design technologies and alternative materials to create pieces that challenge the idea that glass is too fragile to touch. She has a BA in Glass Design from the National College of Art & Design in Dublin, an MA in 3D Design Crafts from the Arts University Plymouth, plus experience working at Corning Museum of Glass, Olustvere Glass Studio, Estonia and LoCo Glass Studio. Laura currently works as a Glass Technical Tutor at the University for the Creative Arts in Surrey, and was selected to exhibit a new and ambitious body of work as part of Collect 2022.
Laura Quinn with her work at Collect Space 2022. Photo: Sylvain Deleu.
QEST funding will enable Laura to attend a glass blowing masterclass at the Pilchuck Glass School in Washington, US, with master glass blowers Boyd Sugiki and Lisa Zerkowitz, whose works are renowned for their precision of form and application of colour. This training will be vital in the continuation and development of her glass practice, and in future she plans to establish her own studio and work part time as an educator, sharing her skills with makers in the UK.
Read more about Laura Quinn’s collaboration on a fashion garment via this article in Glass Network digital. More information is available on her website.
The next funding application round for potential QEST scholars will be open from 9 January-12 February 2023. Visit the QEST website for more details.
Main image: Detail of Andrea Spencer’s ‘Hydrangea Mop’.
A collaboration with The Glass Foundry in the Cotswolds has resulted in trophies made from glass rods for the Fashion Awards 2022.
British-Nigerian designer Yinka Ilori designed the awards, working with environmentally friendly jeweller Skydiamond and The Glass Foundry, which created the trophies. The partnership was arranged by the British Fashion Council.
Yinka Ilori’s first solo exhibition opened at London’s Design Museum earlier in 2022, with work featuring vibrant colours and bold patterns. The trophies have a nine-by-nine configuration and remain faithful to his design vision, celebrating bright colours.
He explained that he wanted the trophies to be symbolic of the collaborative nature of fashion, with each rod representing the many creative roles within the fashion industry.
Read more about the exhibition ‘Yinka Ilori: Parables of Happiness’, which is on until 25 June 2023, via this link.
Image: Details of trophies designed by Yinka Ilori. Photo courtesy of The Fashion Awards.
The Enchanted Garden in Belgium is celebrating its tenth anniversary in Summer 2023, and will host an international exhibition of artworks in a variety of media on the theme ‘(E)motion’.
The show will comprise two elements: One is ‘Motion’: Movement, Change, such as kinetic sculptures, sculpture of a movement, such as a running horse, or a sequence of colours or motifs; the second is ‘Emotion’, with artworks expressing a movement in mood, state of mind, or atmosphere.
Following on from the success of the glass art shown in 2022, organisers Tone Aanderaa and Ignace Clarysse are keen that at least half of the exhibits in 2023 should be glass or have glass characteristics, through being reflective, transparent or coloured. Pieces can be all glass or mixed media.
The Enchanted Garden is a natural, water-rich landscape garden located halfway between Brussels, Liège and Namur and on the RAVEL tourist cycle path connecting Leuven, Tienen, Hoegaarden, Jodoigne and Namur.
Each sculpture has its own spot and and does not compete with other works of art. Visitors see every sculpture, as they are guided through the garden by a carefully planned pathway.
The open call has launched and interested artists should email their proposals by the deadline of 9 January 2023.
Applications should include:
A short profile (maximum one side of A5) explaining why the works should be included in the exhibition;
Links to a website and/or previous exhibitions;
Photos or sketches of possible artworks;
Time period available (minimum one month, i.e. five consecutive weekends, maximum two months) during the exhibition (Friday 9 June – ‘Sculptures in Spring Colours’; Friday 23 June to Sunday 24 September – ‘Summer Exhibition’; then ‘Sculptures in Autumn Colours’ until Sunday 15 October 2023).
The selection committee may contact artists during January 2023 for further discussion and to organise a studio visit. In early March 2023, the selection committee will publish the list of invited artists.
A fund is available to partly compensate transport costs.
The Enchanted Garden will be open every Wednesday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, public holidays and long weekends from 13:00 to 20:00 (13:00 to 19:00 from 18 September 2023).
Stourbridge Glass Museum (SGM) has appointed a new museum manager to oversee the development of new displays and experiences.
Alexander Goodger joins SGM from Dundee Museum of Transport, where he was manager and was instrumental in making the exhibits more ‘hands on’.
In Stourbridge, Alexander will work alongside colleagues and volunteers, including museum curator Harrison Davies, to enhance existing exhibitions by adding new interactive features.
There will also be events, such as beer and wine tasting evenings, as well as new additions to the Museum’s mysterious tunnels, including visual projections and immersive audio.
Commenting on his appointment, Alexander said: “I’m really pleased to join this expanding team at Stourbridge Glass Museum. It’s a real asset to the local Glass Quarter and I’m looking forward to growing its appeal among local residents and tourists from farther afield.
“The history of glass in the Black Country is absolutely fascinating and there are so many stories to tell. We’re going to bring these to life through new interactive displays that will ignite new interest among children and adults. Indeed, I am always looking to create exhibitions that encourage visitors to touch and engage with collections, and bring visitors closer to the heritage. Creating exhibitions that ask questions and provoke discussions is really important.
“We’re also going to be strengthening our fundraising activity so we can deliver more partnerships with charitable organisations like the Dementia Friendship Group – Me, Myself, I, which visits monthly. Ultimately, my aim is for us to become known as one of the best museums in the country.”
He added that the team was analysing visitor feedback in order to “optimise” people’s experience of the Museum in 2023.
Welcoming Alexander to SGM, Graham Knowles, chairman of the British Glass Foundation, said: “We’re absolutely delighted to have Alexander in our team. His approach to visitor engagement aligns perfectly with everything Stourbridge Glass Museum stands for – giving people the chance to experience glass making and live its history through interactive exhibits. He’s full of fresh ideas and I’m certain he’ll keep visitors enthused about all things glass for years to come.
“We now have a fantastic leadership team in place, supported by amazing volunteers, and I’m really excited about what they’re going to achieve in the year ahead.”
Presently, SGM is hosting Georgia Redpath’s ‘Nature | Architecture’ exhibition, which features colourful, geometric miniature scenes. Alexander recommends making it a day out with a walk along the canal combined with a visit to the Red House Cone and then Stourbridge Glass Museum, both of which are dog friendly.
SGM has risen from eighth to third on TripAdvisor, in the ‘Things to do in Stourbridge’ category, thanks in no small part to the popular festive bauble-making weekend hosted by resident glass blower Allister Malcolm at the end of November. Almost 400 baubles were created.
Wilfried Grootens broke away from his traditional training in glass painting and developed a layered approach to build 3D contemporary glass forms. These change in exciting ways with the perspective of the viewer. Linda Banks finds out more.
What led you to start working with glass?
I got an enamel kiln for Christmas when I was eight or nine years old and started making jewellery, cufflinks, rings, house numbers and little things like that. The fascination with being able to create bright, transparent or opaque layers of colour with matte enamel powders after firing was magical to me at the time.
‘Closed Vessel 7’. Note the layers of clear, painted glass.
What glass techniques have you used?
At the age of 16 I started training as a glass and porcelain painter and mosaicist. After 3.5 years I received my professional diploma. After this I worked as an assistant to different artists and learned to become more experimental. I was able to move away from classical glass painting without losing sight of the basic production requirements, such as firing temperatures, cooling phases and brightening times, painting media and binder formulations. The discovery of the spray gun for applying enamel paints to larger glass surfaces deserves a special mention here, too.
‘Transmutation Still I, II, III’. Each cube is 22cm square.
How did you develop your glass painting technique?
At one point while stacking painted glass sheets, I had the idea to create something three-dimensional. Of course, this required a completely different approach. I didn’t have to work with shading on one glass pane to create the illusion of three-dimensionality, but painted a shape on many panes one-dimensionally and got a three-dimensional image in the glass body by gluing the glass panes together.
When I then began to polish my painted, glued panes I was very excited with the results. In this way I created reflections of the painted body on the inner walls of the glass, which also changed with the location of the viewer. This was new; I had never seen anything like it before and decided to follow this new path.
The glue room where all the individual painted glass sheets are fixed together before cold working and finishing begin.
What is your creative approach? Do you draw your ideas out or dive straight in with the materials?
I make a construction sketch to determine how large the individual layers of paint need to be in order to form the overall shape I want when they are brought together and glued.
Then I make a colour sketch to plan the colours to be used, the style of painting and the binder of the individual colours. This is crucial for the colour flow when gluing.
Of course, something is added during the working process, or I work without a plan.
Wilfried at work in his studio. Once the glass sheets have been glued together they must be polished and cleaned.
You travelled widely and worked in the music field when you were younger. What inspires your glass work today?
Music and travelling have always been, and still are, my source of inspiration. Encountering other cultures, their music and art expression based on the culture’s inherent nature and understanding of God expands my thinking and feeling.
What message(s) do you want to convey through your art?
I want my art to create a counterpoint to the surrounding man-made ugliness. I want to take the viewer into my little world, amaze them and invite them to discover my work.
What is your favourite tool or piece of equipment and why?
First of all I have to mention my turntables. They simplify the work process, as you can bring inaccessible parts of the work to you by turning the plate. I have them for larger format images and for small format ones. Secondly, but no less important, I have my record player to play music.
Do you have a favourite piece you have created?
Not really. However, often a piece I haven’t seen for a long time, that I didn’t think was especially good when I made it, suddenly reveals qualities that I didn’t notice before.
‘Odysseus Nightmare’ has a mesmerising effect.
Where do you show and sell your work?
My work is represented by Sandra Ainsley Gallery in Canada, in the US at Habatat Gallery, Montague Gallery, PieceArt Gallery, Raven Gallery and Shaw Gallery, at Plateaux Gallery in London, UK, Etienne Gallery in the Netherlands, Sikabonyi Gallery in Austria, Le Cube Vernet Gallery in France, plus Continuum Gallery, Schürenberg Kunsthandel and Galerie Spiegel in Germany.
‘Birth’ has a real sense of depth through the layers finely painted in turquoise, green, blue and pink.
What advice would you give to someone starting out on a career with glass?
The most important thing is to develop something that no one else does the same way.
Preferably create a signature style that makes you recognisable as the artist. Participate in international exhibitions that publish documentation or a catalogue, even if it costs money and does not bring in money. Accept criticisms as small defeats and not as a fundamental rejection of your work. Keep in contact with the galleries that sell your work so that you can see how they treat it and appreciate it, and whether they pay in a reasonable time.
Do you have a career highlight?
I have several. Namely, every time a museum or a foundation or a collection takes a work of mine and makes it accessible to the public, and thus seen.
‘Red Annemon’ is created from several individual sheets of glass.
Where is your glass practice heading next?
At the moment I am working on wall work that consists of five layers of glass, which are painted individually, then glued, forming a depth image of superimposed layers of paint. The drying time for each pane is long and the painting surface is also on a turntable so that the paint does not run off on one side. I find what happens during the drying process is fascinating, influenced by coincidences and unpredictability.
‘Blue Hole 2’ is an example of Wilfried’s layered wall art.
Then I want to work on my ‘vessels’, although this name is misleading because these are solid and only the shape and internal painting suggest a vessel. I will wait and see what comes after that.
‘Closed Vessel 4’ glows with warm colours.
Is the global energy crisis affecting your practice?
I work primarily with cold processes. However, the production of flat glass, which is my raw material, the energy needed for grinding and polishing, transport, tools – everything has almost doubled in price in a very short time. That raises concerns about how it will continue.
The artists who use hot and warm processes are even more impacted, with their enormous expenditure on energy for melting and cooling. Some pieces will not be made at all, because the energy consumption cannot justify the banality of the design or the project.
About the artist
Wilfried carefully paints each sheet of glass before gluing them together to give a magical 3D effect in the finished piece.
Wilfried Grootens was born in 1954 in Uedem, Germany. Between 1969 and 1973 he undertook an apprenticeship as glass and porcelain painter with Hein Derix in Kevelaer. From 1973 to 1981 he travelled through Asia, South and Central America and the Middle East.
In 1988 he gained his master’s certificate and the following year he set up his own studio in Kleve.
He has won many awards and exhibited internationally.
As most readers are aware, 2022 has been a momentous year for glass, being both the UN-designated International Year of Glass and the Contemporary Glass Society’s (CGS) 25th anniversary celebration.
All the wonderful events and opportunities that the CGS has put on this year to mark its landmark birthday culminate in the last major exhibition of 2022 – ‘Glorious Glass’.
CGS Chair Susan Purser Hope explains, “The Glorious Glass exhibition demonstrates how utterly glorious and amazing contemporary glass is so that everyone can appreciate and enjoy its magical colours, textures, use of light and variety of techniques, and also discover their own local glass artists. This exhibition is the finale of CGS’s anniversary year-long programme of six online and 12 live exhibitions nationwide and is a celebration of glorious glass in all its many facets.”
Uniquely, this exhibition features the work of a family of glass artists – the Burke Family of E&M Glass. Ed and Margaret are the ‘E’ and ‘M’ in E&M Glass, setting up the studio 35 years ago and establishing themselves as specialists in handmade tableware. They have produced glassware for Barneys of New York, The Four Seasons Hotels, Fortnum and Mason and many more high-end stores.
Their oldest son Charlie has been around hot glass from a very young age. He went to Sunderland University to study Glass and Ceramics before working in several studios around the UK. His partner Amelia graduated from Manchester Metropolitan University specialising in hot glass as part of her degree in Three-Dimensional Design.
Now they all work together, developing their own specialities as well as working on collaborative projects.
Margaret is fascinated with surface design and uses different tools, techniques and mediums to create primitive imagery on vessel forms.
The focus for Ed has always been on the technical aspects of hot glass. Making a wine glass is an intricate process and learning the variety of skills to create glass tableware is what drives him.
Charlie manipulates hot glass with coloured glass, then uses cold working techniques, such as grinding and polishing or sandblasting, to give different textures.
Meanwhile Amelia specialises in working with cane and murrine for both fused and blown work.
The work of all four Burkes is on show at Glorious Glass, demonstrating the amazing variety of techniques that can be explored with glass.
Another of the exhibitors is the renowned glass artist, Cathryn Shilling. Cathryn’s work has been collected and exhibited internationally.
Cathryn commented, “Since becoming a member of the Contemporary Glass Society, I have found the numerous opportunities to participate in exhibitions challenging and enriching for my practice. A major aim of the CGS is to support emerging artists and I am very grateful that through this participation I was able to take my first steps towards a professional practice in glass.
“The work I am showing at Artizan Gallery is a group of vessels called ‘The Path We Follow’. The temperature change across Europe using observed data can be visualised in more than one way, however there is no doubt that we are following a dangerous path.
“These vessels represent an assembly of European nations, each displaying its own rise in temperature change over 80 years. It is only by taking action now and working together that we can follow a new temperature path to a sustainable future.
“I am extremely grateful to the CGS and Artizan Gallery to be able to show this work which I feel carries an important message.”
Glorious Glass takes place at Artizan Gallery in Torquay and presents the work of over 60 CGS members.
The show is on from 26 November to 24 December 2022.
Venue: Artizan Gallery, 7 Lucius Street, Torquay, Devon TQ2 5UW. Find out more about the artists and view the works for sale via the website.
Main image: Cathryn Schilling’s ‘The Path We Follow’ is one of the exhibits at Artisan Gallery.
An exhibition showcasing the process of creating stained glass panels is on in Berkshire at South Hill Park Arts Centre.
‘Painting with Light’ shows full-size working drawings, a selection of sketchbooks, as well as stained glass panels made by Caroline Loveys, who is the South Hill Park tutor.
The methods used to create a stained glass window have changed very little over the centuries. First a design is drawn to scale and from this a full scale drawing, known as a cartoon, is made. This is used to create the template so that pieces of coloured sheet glass can be cut to size.
Details such as facial features or decorative patterns can be painted onto the glass using a glass paint containing finely ground glass. This is then fired in a kiln to around 650 degrees centigrade, with some pieces requiring multiple firings. The glass pieces are then assembled with lengths of lead that are soldered together. Finally the panel is cemented with a linseed oil cement to make the panel watertight before it is installed in its final position.
Caroline Loveys studied Architectural Stained Glass for three years at Swansea Architectural Glass Department, now part of the University of Wales Trinity Saint David, where she was a finalist in the Howard Martin Design Award. After graduating in 1994 she started her own stained glass business and set up the stained glass classes at South Hill Park which she still runs today.
She works on commissions for private houses and public spaces, both secular and ecclesiastical, nationally.
The Painting with Light exhibition is on until 8 January 2023 (10am to 11pm) at South Hill Park Arts Centre, Ringmead, Bracknell, Berkshire RG12 7PA.
As Contemporary Glass Society (CGS) members know, one of many perks of membership is the regular chance to hear glass artists talking about their work via CGS video presentations. Chair Susan Purser Hope works tirelessly to put together this programme of speakers with the CGS Administrator Pam Reekie.
If you enjoy these presentations, you can always watch them again – or catch up with them later – on YouTube.
You can also indulge yourself in more glass interviews in the form of a podcast called Talking Out Your Glass, presented by former editor of the US Glass Art magazine, Shawn Waggoner.
Shawn has interviewed and written about many of the world’s greatest artists working with glass in the furnace, torch and on the table.
In 2016, she turned her passion for glass art into a podcast featuring interviews with the likes of Lino Tagliapietra, Narcissus Quagliata, Dante Marioni, Robert Mickelsen, Toots Zynsky, Shayna Lieb, Kelly O’Dell, Raven Skyriver, Ginny Ruffner, Lucio Bubacco, Richard Marquis, Judith Schaechter, and many more.
Rated in iTunes’ ‘New and Noteworthy’ in 2018, the Talking Out Your Glass podcast continues to evolve and includes interviews with America’s finest borosilicate artists making both pipes and sculpture on the torch.
Other topics include how to use sustainable glass practices and how artists address the issues of our times, such as climate change, politics, and life in the age of technology.
So if you are keen to hear more glass artists and designers discussing their work, why not check out the Talking Out Your Glass podcast?
A few months ago the British Glass Foundation (BGF), which spearheaded the development of the new Stourbridge Glass Museum (SGM) that opened in April 2022, put out a call for donations of old glass pieces that could be auctioned to raise money for the organisation.
That ‘Something Old for Something New’ auction took place on 17 November 2022 at Fieldings Auctioneers, with its director – and SGM trustee – Will Farmer, who is a regular on TV’s ‘Antiques Roadshow’, wielding the gavel.
The auction featured almost 20 different pieces of donated glass, and raised £1,050. This is a great result, especially as some lots were not sold.
“All of that sum is heading straight for BGF coffers,” said BGF’s Graham Fisher.
Image: A view of Fieldings Auctioneers’ sale room.
The Design Trust has launched its new 2023 diaries and journal planners for 2023.
The Design Trust points out that these books are more than just planning tools, as they include over 50 pages of invaluable business content across marketing, finance and time management. They are business handbooks written specifically for creative professionals.
This year The Design Trust have two options available:
The Diary Planner is a ring-bound book in mint/lilac or orange/ochre colourways. It provides week-to-view spreads for to-do lists, actions and appointments.
Alternatively, the Journal Planner is a hardback book in orange/ochre or dark brown/white.
Instead of the week-to-view diary, this offers a single monthly page for writing the most urgent and important to-dos, goals and any actions regarding finances, marketing and so on.
The price for each is £50, which includes:
* 2 hours of pre-recorded business training on planning
* 2 x 2 hours of live planning workshops around finances and marketing
* A Private Facebook group offering a forum for participants to ask business questions and get support.
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