Archives: News

News and reviews

Capturing life’s experiences in contemporary glass

Vic Bamforth’s glass has an instantly recognisable, often humorous, painterly style, which he combines with his own version of the specialist Graal technique. Recently, he has been creating colourful, sculptural forms. Here he explains his journey with glass to Linda Banks, editor of Glass Network digital.

What led you to start working with glass?

Having worked for a short while in stained glass, I decided to explore the world of glass further. In 2000, my brother Ian and I enrolled on an evening class in glassblowing. In 2001 we decided, with encouragement from our tutor, to pursue glass full time, so we enrolled on the Glass Techniques & Technology course at Dudley International Glass Centre (IGC).

One of my blown pieces was selected for the V&A’s ‘Inspired By’ exhibition for part-time students, which gave further encouragement. After leaving the IGC, we were awarded an internship at the Red House Glass Cone’s glassblowing studio in Wordsley where we developed our work professionally.

In 2010, with glass makers Stephen Foster and Peter Fricker, we set up Stourbridge Glassblowing Studio at the newly redeveloped Ruskin Glass Centre. I also took on a separate studio there to focus on researching, designing and painting works in preparation for the blowing studio.

Vic Bamforth working at the bench. Photo: D Stocks.

You have perfected the use of the Graal technique. Why does this method appeal to you and how have you made it your own?

My interest in the traditional Graal technique evolved from working with sheets of flashed glass at the IGC. I began introducing simple, bold, colourful imagery, such as jazz musicians, by sandblasting through the top colour to reveal the one below. Then I picked the sheets up on hot clear blanks and cased them in clear glass. The optical properties and qualities of thick, clear, walled vessels instantly appealed.

‘Red hot and blue’ uses flashed glass. Photo by the artist.

Several people commented on how Graal-like these pieces were, which prompted me to name the technique ‘Flagraal’. Soon afterwards I started making traditional Graal pieces, which involved covering the blanks in a vinyl resist through which I would hand cut designs, ready for sandblasting. Then I discovered a box of high firing onglaze enamels (Paradise Paints from California) and suddenly the surface of the blank became a canvas.

I just had childlike fun playing with them in a loose and naïve way. Not being a painter, I had the advantage of no inhibitions. I had no tuition or preconceived ideas nor plans or real direction. All I did was enjoy the exploration and discovery.

My paintings are now much more detailed and refined and have much more interesting subject matter. This is as a result of years of patience and perseverance.

You are known for your pictorial style. What is your creative approach? Do you draw your ideas out or dive straight in with the materials?

I began drawing seriously while working on painted Graal pieces for commissions and exhibitions at the Red House Glass Cone. The private commissioning process starts with conversations and reference images or photographs provided by the clients, to which I add my own research. Quick sketches are then followed by much more detailed and refined drawings, as they are a constant reference during the painting process.

I must be a little more disciplined and focused on the finished article, but I am invariably given a fairly free rein by the commissioner, as they are accepting of my representative style and how I work. This flexibility gives me the freedom to change a composition during the painting process instinctively and intuitively, feeling what is right. I appreciate this trust in me.

Diving straight in with the materials is something I used do much more frequently in the early days, working very spontaneously and uninhibitedly. However, I haven’t completely abandoned this liberating way of creating.

A lot of your work tells a story. What are the main message(s) you want to convey to your audience through your work?

I didn’t consciously set out to convey any specific messages. Many of my painted Graals have been lighthearted and humorous and it is rewarding to hear comments from observers saying how uplifting they are.

However, there are some more serious, social history pieces, too. For example, ‘The Strongest Links’ commemorates the 1910 Women Chainmakers’ Strike in Cradley Heath, West Midlands. This piece is about a serious subject, but it is still infused with a little humour!

‘The Strongest Links’ depicts a serious social topic but with Vic’s usual humour. Photo by the artist.

I also think there is a different kind of message conveyed by drawing a viewer’s eye in to closely inspect the work, first by attracting attention to the surface, then revealing the interior through external ‘windows’. The perfect example would be ‘Down the Rabbit Hole’ (‘Alice’ of course!).

So, I just do what I do, enjoy the journey and, if it connects with people in some way, that is a message in itself.

Your more recent vessels explore shape and bold colour. What prompted this shift in style? 

There is a shift in style, but not a shift away from the painted work, as that will always be my main focus, for many reasons. What captivated me from the very beginning were the unique properties and qualities of glass – refraction, reflection, transparency, translucency, opacity, malleability and, of course, the seductive palette of bold colours available.

My Sommercalmo, Sommarial and Tricolarial collections exploit and convey some of these properties. The collections have evolved from merging the traditional Italian blowing techniques of Sommerso and Incalmo and the Swedish Arial technique, which is how they got their names. These forms are much more sculptural, organic, fluid and tactile, speaking more of the material itself.

The more recent Tricolarials have coincided with my discovery of scuba diving and love of snorkelling, where I am surrounded by shoals of beautiful, colourful fish, graceful and majestic rays and coral swaying to and fro in rhythm with the tide.

In my latest work I am using angled cutting and polishing the tops and bottoms of a couple of Tricolarials, transforming them from vessel to sculpture. For me, they are the most satisfying and exciting development yet and they are the first pieces visitors gravitate towards when they visit the studio.

I guess the next shift could be to combine the painting with much more sculptural, organic forms!

Detail of Vic’s recent ‘Tricolarials’. Photo by the artist.

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

There is no one stand-out favourite tool for me. However, I am very fond of my many paint brushes and their individual nuances. I particularly cherish my fine ‘mini majestic’ liners, used for controlled, detailed work. At the other end of the size spectrum are five-foot-long blowing irons which, among many other things, enable us to harness and exploit the natural forces of gravity and centrifugal force which are free tools at our disposal. Plus, there are my simple sgraffito tools, which are indispensable.

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

‘Down the Rabbit Hole’ is my favourite. Excellent glass artist/maker Darren Weed, who makes with me, said ‘Alice’ was the piece that was more ‘Vic’ than any other I have painted, and I agree with him.

Vic Bamforth’s ‘Down the Rabbit Hole’ draws the viewer in to examine all the details of the piece. Photo by the artist.

I remember I just wanted to make a piece on the subject for fun. It started out with lots of loose sketches and no intended composition. I wanted to have internal and external imagery, so we made a clear, spherical blank with an internal ‘floating’ cut off bubble. There had to be external windows through which to view the interior as per the book, ‘Through the Looking Glass’.

During the painting I listened to Tom Waits’ album ‘Alice’ and was completely immersed. I worked through the night on two consecutive days. I still wonder where it came from.

‘Alice’ now lives with John and Sharon, two friends who love, and collect, glass. They kindly allow me to show the work at events, since it must be seen and held to be truly appreciated.

I must mention another piece as well, for more personal and sentimental reasons. After about 20 years of working in glass, my brother Ian and I have recently created our first collaborative pieces. The most significant of these is our recent biographical piece, ‘From Hull to the Isle of Wight’, which was completed during a demonstration we did for the Isle of Wight Glass Museum.

‘From Hull to the Isle of Wight’ is a collaborative piece that Vic made with his brother, Ian Bamforth, who has also followed a career in contemporary glass. Photo: Vic Bamforth.

What is next for your practice?

There are private commissions to fulfil and lots of interesting, clear glass blanks to play with, including small houses, eggs, spheres, deep sea divers, and even a Rapunzel!

I will be exploring painted roll-ups too, which have been on my to-do list for some time.

In addition, Ian and I will be creating more collaborative pieces.

I have started printmaking on paper with on-site printmaker Mike Allison. These prints, along with drawings and canvas paintings, will be an interesting 2D addition to my 3D glass.

Glassmakers’ hands are protected from the intense heat of the hot glass by just a pad of wet newspaper or sheet of cork. Therefore, having a taste of direct hand-to-material contact with clay on a Wedgwood ‘experience day’ felt good. That will be something else to play with in the future.

Where do you show and sell your work?

Most of my work is on show and for sale directly from my studio at the Ruskin. My website showcases some work, too. Both Vessel Gallery and Messums in the UK have a selection of my Sommercalmos, Sommarials and Tricolarials.

Occasionally I take part in group exhibitions, nationally and internationally. The Specialist Glass Fairs I once attended have ceased to be, so I am looking into alternatives.

‘Sommercalmos’ glass art marks a new approach for Vic. Photo by the artist.

Do you have a career highlight?

There are several that spring to mind, but the best one was being invited by Bild-Werk Frauenau to lead a Masterclass in Enamel Painting and Graal during their ‘Perspectives of Graal Glass: Symposium with Master Classes’ event. The whole experience was a fantastically unforgettable journey, both literally and metaphorically. I remember when Mark Angus contacted me and I was reluctant about the idea, telling him I wasn’t a teacher and had never taught and wasn’t very organised or structured. He said I would be perfect, so I couldn’t refuse.

I must also mention being selected for the British Glass Biennale a couple of times here in Stourbridge, as Stourbridge is where I studied and now live.

Exhibiting at SOFA [Sculpture Objects Functional Art and Design] Chicago with Zest Gallery was memorable, as I attended in person and had a great time, professionally and socially. During the fair, a distinguished-looking gentleman told me he liked my work and that it was positive, organic and sweet. He patted me on the head and, looking down at the name tag to see who was taking such liberties, I discovered it was the American glass artist famed for his paperweights, Paul Stankard! The connection between us turned out to be Paradise Paints.

‘Atlantic Pilchards’ has equal helpings of colour and fun. Photo by the artist.

Who or what inspires you?

Basically ‘life experience’ inspires me – specifically, people I have met or know(n), places I have visited, the world around me, how I feel and what’s in my thoughts.

Discovering and bringing together the exciting and expressive mediums of hot glass and painting have enabled me to convey these experiences and emotions as a visual narrative.

The many conversations, often unrelated to glass, with visitors to my studio, have been a constant source of inspiration on many levels.

Working with hot glass, with or without paint, is itself an inspiration. I feel many phenomena contribute to, or govern, physical and emotional experiences and their outcomes. For me, intuition, instinct, osmosis and serendipity are prime examples. Serendipity is often dismissed as a poor excuse for a mistake, which I don’t regard as a bad thing, disappointment or disaster. I just embrace it as an essential part of the learning process and let it guide me down an alternative path. It invariably leads to something of worth and I like to call it ’evolution of the unintended’. At the IGC I wrote an essay titled, ‘How significant is the element of chance in the creative process?’, after discovering what made me gravitate towards certain artists. The common denominator was that they all acknowledged the phenomenon of ‘chance’. They accepted and embraced it, and some deliberately used it as a creative tool.

I must also mention scuba diving and snorkelling as inspirations!

Has the coronavirus impacted your practice?

Not consciously, although I am sure something will surface in due course. Two years is not a long period of time after 70 years on the planet. It hasn’t had a detrimental effect on sales or commissions. It has provided time and space to reflect on the past, live in the present, and look forward to the future. When the RGC had to close to the public, most tenants stayed at home. Without visitors, the building seemed eerie and hollow. Thankfully we are getting back to normality, as our recent Spring Craft Fayre highlighted.

And finally…

Many potential commissioners don’t know where to start so I suggest they contact me by email or phone to discuss the process. It is surprising how easily the ideas start to flow once a dialogue is instigated. Commissions can be deeply personal and evoke all manner of feelings and memories. Capturing and evoking memories in pictures and words on, and in, a piece of glass is a unique and rewarding experience.

Vic Bamforth with artworks selected for the 2015 British Glass Biennale. Photo: Phil Loach.

About the artist

Vic Bamforth studied traditional stained glassmaking techniques in Buckinghamshire, England, before moving to the Midlands to study for diplomas in glass technique and technology, and design, at the International Glass Centre in Stourbridge.

There he discovered the practice of combining glass blowing and painting.

Today, his established, colourful style of glassmaking is in demand. His work is held in many collections, including at the Corning Museum of Glass, New York, and the Stourbridge Glass Museum.

Find out more via Vic’s website: https://www.vicbamforthglass.com

Main feature image: These highly decorative vessels, ‘Scheherazade Composite’, display Vic Bamforth’s exuberant style.

Baldwin and Guggisberg exhibition marks reopening of Conches glass museum

Glass installation Amphore Metaphore

Musée du Verre de Conches in France is marking its reopening with a new solo exhibition by the glass artists Philip Baldwin and Monica Guggisberg in June 2022.

The two artists have worked together since 1980 and are known for their mastery of ‘Battuto’ – an Italian technique to mark the surface of the glass with a grinding wheel.

This exhibition will feature nine installations exploring their fascination with the amphora vessel and its history.

They reveal not just Monica and Philip’s sense of awe at the vessel’s beauty – together with its perfect marriage of form and function – but also its ancient lineage.

This simple jar, with its gentle curves and characteristic, pointed bottom, recurs across millennia and different cultures, from China to India and Siberia to the Levant.

Monica and Philip explain, “Until we started our research for this show, the only amphorae we knew were the iconic ones we find in classical civilizations: Crete, Phoenicia, Greece, Rome. In fact, the earliest ones known to date were discovered in Xianrendong cave in China and take us back deep into the last Ice Age, to c18,900-17,000 BCE. Made by people who were hunter-gatherers, they dispel myths that early peoples did not make pots, and that settled agriculture was the beginning of civilization.”

This will be the first contemporary show at the museum’s new site at Conches’ former hospital building, since it received 5 million Euros for redevelopment.

The Musée du Verre de Conches was set up in 1996 to conserve a rare set of pâte-de-verre stained glass windows by François Décorchemont (1880- 1971). The museum now holds glass art from the late 19th to the beginning of the 21st century.

The exhibition is on from 25 June to 27 November 2022 at: Musée du Verre François Décorchemont, 25 rue Paul Guilbaud, 27190 Conches, France.

Website: www.museeduverre.fr

Image: Baldwin & Guggisberg’s ‘Amphore Métaphore’ (2022) (4.65m L x 1.7m H x 25cm D).

New Stourbridge Glass Museum opens

Will Farmer and Ollie Buckley at the opening of Stourbridge Glass Museum

The new Stourbridge Glass Museum opened in early April 2022 with events over three days: a VIP launch on the evening of 7 April, exhibitor’s preview on 8 April and the opening to the general public on 9 April.

The VIP evening welcomed around 150 guests and commenced with a glassmaking demonstration by resident glass artist Allister Malcolm in his Hot Studio. Visitors mixed among the glass cabinets and interactive displays.

Allister Malcolm (right) at work in the Hot Shop.

The formal greeting and speeches were hosted by Will Farmer, of the BBC’s ‘Antiques Roadshow’ TV series, and a stalwart supporter and a Trustee of the British Glass Foundation (BFG), whose vision had brought the museum to life after 13 years of development. BGF Chairman Graham Knowles was praised for his dedication and, in turn, praised the hard work of the many people who had made the dream a reality. Then local MP Mike Wood (Dudley South) spoke of his delight to be associated with the museum.

The speeches concluded with a surprise presentation to Graham Knowles of a glass cameo piece that had been specially made by Helen Millard. As Will Farmer remarked, “We have on display here some of the oldest examples of glass, so it is only fitting that the man spearheading the new museum should be presented with one of its newest.”

Speaking prior to the launch, Museum Director Ollie Buckley said: “It’s hard to believe the moment of opening is upon us after so many years of work developing the museum. We’re incredibly proud of what we’ve achieved at Stourbridge Glass Museum and I’m confident visitors both young and old will thoroughly enjoy learning about the history of glass making and admire the different pieces on display.

“For example, you’ll be able to sit in a real glass maker’s chair and watch cinematic footage of the process of making a piece of glass art. We also have immersive animations designed to take you back in time to when glass was produced inside a cone – those iconic buildings that once defined the Stourbridge skyline. On top of this, you’ll have a chance to create your own glass designs using digital interactive screens before emailing your finished masterpiece to yourself or a friend.”

The museum has displays of glass through the ages and tells the story of glass making at Stourbridge.

The preview exhibition evening on 8 April was held to thank the museum’s team of volunteers. They were able to view the inaugural temporary exhibition of work by Vanessa Cutler, entitled ‘Journeys and Horizons’. Read more about the exhibition here.

Over its first weekend, the Stourbridge Glass Museum took almost £1000 in sales and received over 160 visitors. There were two tours with 36 people and a total of 23 children and 13 adults undertook activities, including glass jar decorating.

Find out more about the museum and upcoming events at: www.stourbridgeglassmuseum.org.uk

Main image: Will Farmer (left) and Stourbridge Glass Museum Director, Ollie Buckley, at the opening event.

Glass workshops help domestic abuse survivors

Domestic abuse workshop as therapy

An exhibition of glass art made during glass workshops for survivors of domestic abuse will be shown in London from 30 June to 3 July 2022. There will also be a programme of free talks about how glass can embody trauma.

Making art can be a powerful way to process trauma, but what happens when the material used is itself a mirror of someone’s lived experiences? Artist Roberta de Caro is exploring this concept with her award-winning project ‘From the Fragment to the Whole’, wherein glass becomes a metaphor for the experience of surviving domestic abuse. 

Art created from glass fragments during one-to-one workshops.

Roberta, a recent MA graduate in Art & Material Histories at City & Guilds of London Art School, has focused her research on glass, a material she works with in her art practice, appreciating its transformative power. 

She is running one-to-one glass making workshops for survivors of domestic abuse, where broken glass is used to create artworks and enables the participants to gain a new perspective on the process of healing from trauma. 

The artworks, made by fusing fragments together, are powerful symbols of their resilience. 

Roberta says, “I consider these artworks abstract documents of the survivors’ lived experiences; they all come to represent their stories, that are too often left untold.” 

These stories will come together as a collection, to be exhibited at Espacio Gallery, Shoreditch, London, from 30 June to 3 July 2022 (12-5pm daily; Sunday 10-1pm). 

Roberta continues, “Glass is a wonderful material to work with. It’s also full of contradictions: it’s transparent and opaque, sharp and tactile; it is both a very fragile medium and an incredibly resistant material that can break in a million pieces but can be fused back together into a whole. All these characteristics are connected to the issue of domestic abuse. 

“The idea that from fragility something beautiful and strong can emerge is the foundation of this project; piecing together fragments of glass can become a metaphor for the participants’ process of repairing the fragmented self, and rebuilding a life beyond abuse. It can be quite a cathartic experience. And one I understand from personal experience.”

The programme of free talks takes place on Saturday 2 July, from 2pm to 4pm. It features Roberta de Caro in conversation with esteemed artists Silvia Levenson and Philippa Beveridge, led by artist and philosopher Dr Matthew Rowe. Advance booking for the talks is required, via Eventbrite.

This project launched in 2019 during Roberta’s BA studies in Fine Art, when she was awarded the Student Initiated Project Prize by City & Guilds of London Art School. She worked with Coin Street Community Centre in South Bank to organise group workshops in 2020 but these were cancelled because of the pandemic. A shorter version of the project ran in May 2021 and was presented at the City & Guilds of London MA Interim Show 2021. 

The latest series of 30 workshops launched in February 2022, backed by Bede House Southwark, and runs until the exhibition in the summer. 

The artists supporting Roberta with this project are Jyoti Bharwani, David MacDiarmid and glass artist Philippa Beveridge. 

All proceeds from the sales of the artworks will fund future ‘From the Fragment to the Whole’ workshops, and donations will be made to the domestic abuse charity, Women’s Aid. 

This project is supported using public funding by the National Lottery through Arts Council England. 

The exhibition takes place at Espacio Gallery, 159 Bethnal Green Road, London, E2 7DG. https://www.espaciogallery.com 

More information: www.robertadecaro.com 

Main image: Broken glass is used to create artworks and enables the participants to gain a new perspective on the process of healing from trauma.

Life stories in glass

Oil Spill glass art by Carmen Lozar

When young, Carmen Lozar’s favourite fairy tale was ‘Thumbelina’. Today, she extends that enduring fascination with miniature worlds by creating diminutive glass art to describe different aspects of the human condition. Linda Banks finds out more.

What led you to start working with glass?

I found glass at the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana, when I was 19 years old. I loved the camaraderie of the hot shop, the solitude of the flame and kiln shop and, most of all, the qualities of glass as an arts material.

Much of your work uses flame working. Why do you prefer that method?

I have an affinity for models and small objects. As a child, ‘Thumbelina’ was my favourite fairy tale. Flameworking lends itself to the creation of intimate works of art. I grew up with a mother who practised puppetry and an architect father who collected ship models. I was surrounded by miniature worlds and framed theatrics.

‘New Growth’ (2021). Flameworked and fused glass.

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

There is a very linear path between my sketch book and the final product. I do not usually deviate from my drawings, but I spend a lot of time mentally manipulating ideas before they ever make it to the page. It would be easy to identify all the works I have ever made by just flipping through past sketchbooks. I have always admired artists who are flexible as they create, but I think I enjoy my work more when I am in control of the idea.

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

At the torch, I have a pair of Carlo Dona small tweezers that I could not live without. The tips are precise enough to create wonderful detail, yet they are incredibly strong. The tweezers have curves along the sides and back for shaping and sculpting the glass.

‘Fight’ (detail – ketchup and mustard) (2019). Flameworked glass and found objects.

Some of your work is fun; some has deeper meanings. Often, you feature the female form. What message(s) do you want to convey to your audience through your intricate work?

Each piece is an explanation of how I am participating in the world; it is often a reflection of my own joys or inner turmoil. Sometimes the work is funny and free, because that is the way I am feeling, and other times the work is heavier, as is life, especially of late. When I was young, I often felt embarrassed that my work was so self-involved. However, as I have grown older, I have realised that it is just a way of communicating the human condition. It is my way of trying to be honest. I use the female figure not as a physical representation of myself, but as a broader emotive model.

The sculpture I create with glass is meant to inspire and provoke imagination. Telling stories has always been my primary objective. Some narratives are sad, funny, or thoughtful, but my pieces are always about celebrating life.

My current body of work deals with spills. Life is messy. These small narratives accentuate the movement and flow of glass, but they are also telling in how they represent our relationship to the world.

‘I have been so busy…’ (2020). Flameworked and fused glass.

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

I have always loved the piece ‘Oil Spill’ (see main image) because it is so circular in its narrative. The piece features a woman who is formed of the oil which spills out of a container. She is desperately trying to clean up the mess that she has created from just being herself. It is a hopeless task, as she creates more of a mess with each move. This piece can be internalised, as life is so messy, but it can also be viewed in the larger context of basic human desire. People, including me, voraciously consume the very things that are destroying the environment, in turn destroying their own existence.

‘Spilt Milk’ (2017). Flameworked glass and found milk carton.

You also lecture and teach. How does this fit with your glass practice?

I love to travel. I am not sure I would have seen as much of the world as I have if it were not for teaching glass workshops. I have been to Turkey, England, Italy, and New Zealand to teach and lecture. Those trips were magical for me. I love meeting people and seeing new places. Those experiences collectively inform and enrich the work I make. I also teach during the academic year at a small liberal arts college, Illinois Wesleyan University. Working with college students keeps me grounded and present. Teaching does take away precious time from the studio, but it also re-energises my love of the material, especially during workshops.

‘The Color of Water’ (2016). Flameworked and fused glass.

What is next for your glass practice?

I am always interested in expanding what I know and applying it to my practice. Technology is increasingly intertwining itself with crafts. I have had to learn some of this technology for the university and, although it is different to hand work, it is always wonderful to have one more tool in the toolbox.

I have also begun designing models for an artist who creates large-scale public sculpture. This exploration is just in its infancy, but I am excited at the prospect of seeing how the work will translate.

Where do you show and sell your work?

My main gallery is Ken Saunders Gallery in Chicago. I also do several group exhibitions every year.

‘Blow’ (2019). Flameworked glass and found object.

Do you have a career highlight?

Paul Stankard [the glass artist famous for his glass paperweights] recently wrote an article on my work which was published in Glass Quarterly. Paul has always been a mentor and supporter of mine and that has meant a lot over the years. It is easier to keep pushing forward when someone you admire believes in you.

Who or what inspires you?

I take my inspiration from everyday encounters with my children, the books we read together before bed, the natural world, the overwhelming complexities of being a woman, a mother, a wife, an artist and having a full-time job. I feel there is no end to the themes I would like to investigate, but very little time to physically manifest them.

‘Melt’ (2020). Cast glass and flameworked glass.

Has the coronavirus impacted your practice?

It has been harder for me to get to the studio during COVID-19. Life and schedules were so disrupted. I never stopped teaching in person at the university, except for a brief period. It has been two years of changing tactics and pushing ahead with trepidation and uncertainty. It has been difficult to find my balance and I am more productive when I feel anchored and secure. That said, I think that this tumultuous time will lead to artists into a new era of art making.

About the artist

Carmen Lozar is a glass artist and a faculty member of the Ames School of Art at Illinois Wesleyan University in Bloomington, Illinois, USA.

She often travels abroad to teach and share her love for glass, but always returns to her Midwestern roots.

A graduate of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, she completed her post-graduate degree at Alfred University, New York, and is represented by Ken Saunders Gallery in Chicago.

She has held two residencies at the Corning Museum of Glass and one at Penland School of Craft.

Her work is in the permanent US collections of the Museum of Art and Design (MAD) in NY, the Museum of Glass in WA and the Bergstom Mahler Museum in WI.

Find out more via her website: https://www.carmenlozar.com or follow her on Instagram: @carmenlozar

Main feature image: ‘Oil Spill’ (2018). Flameworked glass and found oil can.

Call to new graduates: apply for the Glass Sellers’ CGS Glass Prize and New Graduate Review magazine

The 2022 Graduate Prize and New Graduate Review magazine have opened for applications from students graduating from a British or Irish accredited course this year.

After some exceedingly difficult years, especially for education, the Contemporary Glass Society (CGS) aims to support graduates at the beginning of long careers in glass making, with the annual Graduate Prize, featuring cash and other benefits, as well as the opportunity to have their work shown in the internationally-circulated New Graduate Review publication.

This is a wonderful opportunity for graduates to have their work seen across the world and to promote the future of British contemporary glass art.

Graduate Prize

There will be a Winner and Second Prize awarded, plus two Runners-up prizes and several Commendations. All will appear in the CGS’s New Graduate Review 2022.

The first prize includes:

  • £500 cash
  • £200 vouchers from Creative Glass UK
  • A promotional package, including cover & feature in the New Graduate Review
  • Two years’ CGS Membership
  • A year’s subscription to NEUES GLAS – NEW GLASS: Art & Architecture magazine
  • A selection of glass-related books provided by Alan J Poole.

Second Prize:

  • £150 cash
  • £100 voucher from Warm Glass
  • One year’s membership of CGS
  • A year’s subscription to NEUES GLAS – NEW GLASS: Art & Architecture magazine.

2 x Runners-Up Prizes:

  • £50 voucher from Pearsons Glass
  • One year’s membership of CGS
  • A year’s subscription to NEUES GLAS – NEW GLASS: Art & Architecture magazine.


CGS New Graduate Review

The CGS New Graduate Review is:

  • a 16-page publication
  • It will be circulated extensively to all Colleges, Museums and CGS members
  • It will appear in NEUES GLAS – NEW GLASS: Art & Architecture magazine, which has a worldwide circulation.

There will also be an online exhibition of graduates’ work on the CGS website.

A panel of experts will select the winner and the decision will be announced on 8 August 2022.

The deadline to submit is 5pm on Monday 11 July 2022. Please note that submissions can only be made between 21 June and 11 July 2022.

Download full information and the Application Form via this link.

The CGS is delighted to announce that the Worshipful Company of Glass Sellers of London Charity Fund have helped to fund the Prize and New Glass Review, together with Professor Michael Barnes MC FRCP.

The Worshipful Company of Glass Sellers of London received its Charter in 1664. Initially founded to regulate the Glass Selling and Pot-Making industries within the City of London, the role of the livery company today is to stimulate interest in glass in all its aspects and carry out charitable works, with special emphasis on education.

Other sponsors are: Creative Glass UK, Pearsons Glass, Warm Glass, NEUES GLASS – NEW GLASS: art & architecture magazine and Alan J. Poole.

The CGS is grateful to all the sponsors, without whom these wonderful opportunities for graduates would not be possible.

Image: Last year’s First prize winner ‘Constricted’, by Erica Poyser. Photo: Matt Stone, Matt Evans.

Visit Nazeing Glass Works for hot glass study days in May

Two Hot Glass study days are taking place on 25 and 26 May 2022 at Nazeing Glass Works in Hertfordshire, UK, as part of the UN-designated International Year of Glass.

During each study day, participants will be able to witness most of the processes fundamental to forming fine glass, including blowing, pressing, casting and hand-made paperweight making. 

They will also visit the on-site museum at Nazeing Glass Works, which is dedicated to 20th century British glass and holds 1,800 examples of mostly post-war glass. Stourbridge’s ‘Big Four’, Webb, Webb Corbett, Royal Brierley and Stuart, are all represented, as are the Northeastern pressed makers, like Sowerby and Davidson. 

However, most emphasis is placed on the output of Whitefriars, Dartington, Kings Lynn/Wedgwood and, of course, Nazeing itself, which produced several ranges for Dartington and Wedgwood, amongst others, during the 1970s and 1980s.

In addition, there will be two talks, one by author, journalist and ‘Antiques Roadshow’ TV show glass expert, Andy McConnell, and one by Stephen Pollock-Hill, managing director of Nazeing Glass Works.

Visitors will be able to see glass created by the skilled team from Nazeing Glass Works, as well as Irish Master Glassmaker Killian Schurmann, from Dublin, who will be demonstrating some of his new designs.

Nazeing Glass Works traces its lineage back to 17th-century London and is still family-owned. It moved to its current site in 1928 and is now Britain’s second-largest fine glassworks, after Dartington. 

Nazeing still makes a wide variety of glassware, ranging from architectural and marine lighting, railway and airport runway lenses, laboratory glass, plus ‘Bristol-blue’ decanters and goblets.

The Hot Glass days are scheduled for 25 and 26 May 2022, from 10am to 3.20pm. Refreshments and a buffet lunch are included in the price, which is £39.50 per person in a group booking, or £42.50 per individual booking.

Nazeing Glass Works Ltd is at Nazeing New Road, Broxbourne, Herts, EN10 6SU. Tel 01992 464485

Booking information here:
For Groups, Form 1 and Form 2
For individuals, Form 3

Glass Garden at RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2022

Layne Rowe's angel wing glass sculpture

In recognition of the fact that 2022 has been designated the International Year of Glass by the United Nations, this year’s RHS Chelsea Flower Show (24-28 May 2022) will feature a garden focused on glass art, in collaboration with the Contemporary Glass Society (CGS) as it celebrates its 25th year.

Emma Butler-Cole Aiken’s trio of glass birds, called ‘Searching’.

The ‘International Year of Glass Garden’ features sculptures and garden planters made by British glass artists. These have been made using both ‘hot’ and ‘cold’ glass processes, demonstrating the beauty and versatility of glass in a garden setting.

‘Crystal Mountain’ by Gabrielle Argent.

Glass techniques taught at University for the Creative Arts (UCA) in Farnham, Surrey, have enabled its students to contribute to this garden, alongside master craftsmen and women.

Glass Sails garden sculpture by CGS member Emma Butler-Cole Aiken
‘Sails’, by CGS member Emma Butler-Cole Aiken.

A 3-metre-tall leaded glass sculpture, entitled ‘Sails’, by CGS member Emma Butler-Cole Aiken, will be displayed alongside a 3-metre hand-blown glass ‘angel wings’ sculpture, called ‘Solace’, by Layne Rowe.

‘Go ask Alice’ mirror by Lisa Pettibone.

Their work is complemented by that of CGS members Anthony McCabe, Lisa Pettibone, Gail Boothman, Ian Godfrey and glass garden curator, Gabrielle Argent.

‘Flowers from a Glass Garden’ by Anthony McCabe.

Layne Rowe’s ‘Solace’ represents freedom, fragility but with power, strength, and protection. The symbolism of angel wings can be enjoyed by people of all faiths and of none. This piece has been inspired by previous projects to help bring awareness to the loss of loved ones during the pandemic, and now reflects on the casualties of Ukraine.

Layne Rowe fitting glass feathers to the ‘Solace’ sculpture. Full construction takes about four hours.

The sculpture is made up of over 100 glass ‘feathers’, each individually hot sculpted in clear glass with the introduction of fine white cane work, creating realism. The centres (rachis) are blown using opal white glass to create a hollow, so that each feather can be hung from the bones of the wings which are forged in iron. Each glass feather measures approx. 50cm x 6cm x 6cm.

After graduating from the University of Central Lancashire, Layne worked at London Glassblowing for several years before moving to Brazil, where he set up a glass studio. He currently makes work from his studio in Cambridgeshire and collaborates with fellow artists.

The ‘International Year of Glass Garden’ is hosted by Middle Ranelagh Gardens on Stand AR542 at the show.

The artworks can be viewed and purchased via the Glass Garden website, or at the show, with a donation from sales made to the CGS.

Tickets for the RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2022 are available from the RHS here.

Main image: Layne Rowe with his angel wing sculpture, ‘Solace’.

Artists announced for British Glass Biennale and International Bead Biennale

Glass art by Joanna Manousis

A total of 103 glass artists have been selected from 223 applications for the 2022 British Glass Biennale exhibition. A further 26 artists have been chosen for the inaugural International Bead Biennale.

The judges for the British Glass Biennale were looking for work that represents the most interesting, diverse and outstanding glass art made in the UK in the last three years. The selected glass art will form a cutting-edge showcase of contemporary British based glass talent, with over £17,000-worth of awards to be won. Prize winners will be announced at the awards ceremony, which takes place at The Glasshouse, Stourbridge, UK, on 25 August 2022. 

Work by established artists and emerging new talent will be on display, including that of 18 students. The judges felt that the selected artists had been brave and innovative, using a wide range of styles and techniques, both traditional and experimental.

The judges for the British Glass Biennale 2022 were Michelle Bowen, Brandi P Clark, James Devereux, Michelle Keeling, Wayne Strattman and Bryony Windsor.

Winners of the prizes chosen through public votes will be announced at the closing ceremony on 1 October 2022.

Artwork by Opal Seabrook
Opal Seabrook’s ‘The Time is Now’ will be shown at the British Glass Biennale 2022.

The artists selected for the British Glass Biennale 2022 are: Scott Benefield, Chris Bird-Jones, Heike Brachlow, Keith Brocklehurst, Theo Brooks, Steve Brown, Sarah Brown, Karen Browning, Susan Burne, Tabitha Burrill, Phillipa Candy, Sabrina Cant, Nina Casson McGarva, Ian Chadwick, Keeryong Choi, Clare Cleary, Kate Courtney-Taylor, Amy Cushing, Vanessa Cutler, Calum Dawes, Christopher Day, James Denison-Pender, Samantha Donaldson, Rachel Elliott, Fiaz Elson, Sally Fawkes, Jahday Ford, Juliet Forrest, Alec Galloway, Hannah Gibson, Emma Goring, Jianyong Guo, Claire Hall, Laura Hart, Gillian Hobson, Charlotte Hughes-Martin, Katherine Huskie, Henry Hussey, Richard Jackson, Angela Jarman, Kate Jones, Joshua Kerley, Alison Kinnaird, Isabella Kullmann, Monette Larsen, Jessie Lee, James Lethbridge, Jon Lewis, Julie Light, Alison Lowry, Alister Malcolm, Bruce Marks, Laura McKinley, Joanne Mitchell, Rachel Mulligan, Tracy Nicholls, Marged Owain, Purnima Patel, Lisa Pettibone, Richard Platt, Verity Pulford, Laura Quinn, Tim Rawlinson, David Reekie, Colin Reid, Bruno Romanelli, Paul Rowbottom, Layne Rowe, Anthony Scala, Opal Seabrook, Cathryn Shilling, Andrea Spencer, Angela Steel, Helen Stokes, Nancy Sutcliffe, Ayako Tani, Louis Thompson, Sue Tinkler, Disha Trivedi, Elliot Walker, Gregory Warren Wilson, Sarah Wiberley, Bethany Wood, Sandra Young and Maria Zulueta.

Students taking part in the British Glass Biennale are: Gregory Alliss, Anthony Amoako Attah, Cherisse Appleby, Ben Bavin, Stephen Chadwick, Wai Yan Choi, Catherine Dunstan, Giles Fearon, Jemma Finch, Dovile Grigaliunaite, Sogon Kim, Joanna Manousis, Tamar Nikki Palmer, Lauren Puckett, Charlott Rodgers, Moonju Suh, Liz Waugh McManus and Yixue Yang.

Artists invited to take part: Matt Durran, James Devereux, and Michelle Keeling.

International Bead Biennale

Bead biennale artwork by Angela Thwaites
Angela Thwaites’ Bacyll bead collection will be shown at the International Bead Biennale. Photo: Ingrida Latviunaite.

There are 26 artists selected for the inaugural International Bead Biennale by a jury comprised of Barbara Beadman, Vic Bamforth and Pauline Holt. 

The artists taking part in the International Bead Biennale 2022 are: Laurie Ament, Keith Brocklehurst, Michael Bullen, Madeline Bunyan, Effie Burns, Ian Chadwick, Anne Clifton, Sarah Downton, Tove Egholt, Rachel Elliott, Josean Garcia, Jennie Lamb, Julie Light, Anu Luht, Michaela Maria Moeller, Maggie Napier, Stéphane Oliver, Astrid Riedel, Tina Smith, Michi Suzuki, Angela Thwaites, Arthur van Buuren, Jolene Wolfe, Shelly Xue, Caterina Zucchi and Mateja Zugman.

Invited artists for the International Bead Biennale are Vic Bamforth, Daisuke Takeuchi and Sakiyo Takeuchi.

Awards

The awards on offer at the British Glass Biennale are:
The British Glass Biennale Award – Best in Show
The Worshipful Company of Glass Sellers of London: Glass Sellers Awards and Glass Sellers Student Awards
Glass Arts Society – International Artists Award
The People’s Prize – sponsored by Warm Glass
The Young Collector’s Award – sponsored by the Glass Sellers
Uniting the Planet – themed prize sponsored by the Glass Society
Best Newcomer’s Award – sponsored by the Glass Society
The Guild of Glass Engravers Award.

The awards on offer for the International Bead Biennale are: International Bead Biennale Best in Show and International Bead Biennale Runner Up, both sponsored by Barbara Beadman.

The British Glass Biennale and International Bead Biennale take place at The Glasshouse, Stourbridge, West Midlands, DY8 4HF, on Tuesday to Saturday from 26 August to 1 October 2022. The awards ceremony marks the start of the International Festival of Glass, a four-day event celebrating the drama and excitement of glass. Find out more: www.glassbiennale.org www.ifg.org.uk 

The organisers are grateful to all the sponsors and supporters: International Festival of Glass, Ruskin Mill Land Trust, Ruskin Mill Trust, Arts Council England, The Worshipful Company of Glass Sellers, Glass Arts Society (GAS), Glass Society, Warm Glass, The Guild of Glass Engravers, Contemporary Glass Society (CGS) and Barbara Beadman.

Main image: Joanna Manousis’ artwork, ‘Bottled Pear’, will feature at the British Glass Biennale. Photo: Tom Brooks.

The Story of Okra and Station Glass at Isle of Wight Glass Museum

Glass vase by Richard Golding

The Isle of Wight Glass Museum is hosting a glassmaking demonstration, followed by a talk from master glassmaker Richard Golding, one of the leading exponents of surface-decorated studio glass, about his life working with glass. The event takes place on 28 May 2022, in person and online.

The demonstration will be hosted at the studio of Timothy Harris, of Isle of Wight Studio Glass, based next door to the museum. This will be followed by Richard Golding’s audiovisual presentation on the glass studios he founded, entitled ‘A Lifetime in Glass: The Story of Okra and Station Glass’.

This is one of a series of special events held by the museum to celebrate the art of glassmaking on the Isle of Wight.

The talk will take place in the museum’s Art Deco gallery, followed by a private viewing of selected artworks, a guided tour by the Director, and the opportunity to engage directly with the experts. In addition, guests will have the opportunity to invest in a unique piece of glass art from the artists’ current collections.

Richard and Timothy met in 1979 when they enrolled for a new course at the International Glass Centre in Brierley Hill. The programme was designed, in part, by Timothy’s father, Michael Harris. Over the years the two craftsmen have occasionally worked in each other’s studios to collaborate on a special piece.

“Richard’s work is avidly collected worldwide, and Timothy is one of the Island’s renowned glass artists,” Museum Director Anton Doroszenko commented. “Lifelong friends, they are looking forward to joining forces once again to celebrate their art.”

Tickets are £15.00 and are on sale in the museum office, or online at www.isleofwightglassmuseum.org.uk/events . For ticket holders who can’t attend in person, the events will be live streamed via Zoom.

Coffee and pastries will be served from 10.30am, and the event will start at 11.00am on Saturday 28 May 2022.

Location: Isle of Wight Glass Museum, Arreton Barns, Main Road, Arreton, Isle of Wight PO30 3AA.

The Isle of Wight Glass Museum celebrates the design and craftsmanship of glassmakers based on the island, as well as those in some way connected to the island, past and present. There are over 1,200 pieces on show in two galleries. The museum is also celebrating the International Year of Glass with additional special exhibits throughout 2022.

More information: www.isleofwightglassmuseum.org.uk

Image: A piece from the Museum’s collection made by Richard Golding, called ‘Morning Glory’.