Collect, the international contemporary craft and design fair, returns this month, with a physical show at Somerset House in London from 23-27 February 2022, plus an online exhibition at Artsy.net from 23 February.
Now in its 18th year, the 2022 hybrid fair, organised by the Crafts Council, builds on Collect’s successful digital-only event in 2021.
The fair opens for VIP previews on 23 and 24 February, and to the public from 25-27 February.
Collect features a selection of exhibiting galleries, representing some of the most exciting international craft artists working today, from the emerging to the established. The work is all made in the last five years by living artists and designers, allowing each gallery to curate its own display and commission new pieces or bodies of work especially for Collect.
The exhibits span many craft disciplines, including glass, ceramics, lacquer, art jewellery, precious metalwork, textiles, fibre, wood and paper, as well as works using non-traditional materials like resin and bone.
Galleries and organisations representing the glass world physically or in the online exhibition include Bullseye Projects, Flow Gallery, Joanna Bird Contemporary Collections, London Glassblowing, North Lands Creative and the Queen Elizabeth Scholarship Trust (QEST).
US-based Bullseye Projects will present printed glass work from emerging artist Anthony Amoako-Attah that incorporates traditional designs and symbols from his local Ghana. Meanwhile, dichroic glass by Dawn Bendick will be highlighted by Joanna Bird Contemporary Collections. Both artists have been shortlisted for the Brookfield Properties Craft Award, among a group of five artists selected from the 350 artists showing at Collect 2022. The winner will be announced on 24 February 2022.
Dawn Benedict’s glass art will be featured at Collect 2022.
Alongside the international galleries’ displays, craft installations by emerging artists will be presented at Collect Open. A total of 13 projects by artists and collectives from Chile, France, Israel and the UK will be on show. Glass artists Lisa Pettibone and Laura Quinn are among those taking part. Lisa Pettibone will be showing a kinetic installation entitled, ‘Instrument of Thought: A meditation on matter and light’. She received an Arts Council England National Lottery grant to complete and install the project.
There will also be a programme of talks presented by the Crafts Council live and online.
Collect is open to the public at Somerset House, Strand, London, WC2R 1LA, UK, from 25-27 February 2022, between 11.00-18.00 daily. Tickets and visitor information is available from this link. Early general admission bookings made before 3 February 2022 save 20%.
The show is available to view online via Artsy.net from 23 February until 6 March 2022.
Frans Wesselman imparts his amusement with the everyday minutiae of life through his eye-catching stained glass designs. Here he speaks about his work to Glass Network digital’s editor, Linda Banks.
You are an artist who enjoys painting and printmaking. What led you to start working with glass?
In 1998 or 1999 I visited Salisbury Cathedral, not for the first time, and became aware of the ‘Prisoners of conscience’ window, which was painted in the 1980s by Gabriel Loire. I thought it so beautiful and so impressive that I wanted to try my hand at stained glass.
There are some similarities between printmaking and stained glass, in that a certain amount of planning and working in stages is common to both. So, I had a go and it seemed to work.
‘Coming home’ stained glass panel (30×30 cm).
What glass techniques have you used in your career and why do you have a preference for the methods you use today?
I am a strictly two-dimensional person and, having come from painting to glass, I have only ever worked with stained glass. However, on occasion, I bond pieces and/or mount several in front of one another on a plinth, which is as close as I get to a third dimension.
Frans Wesselman at work on one of his quirky stained glass designs.
Can you tell us something about how you developed your glass working methods? Do you draw your designs out or dive straight in with the materials?
Not having had any formal training, it started as trial and error. But over the years I have observed other people, and on occasion worked with others, and learned lots. When I make a new piece, or get a commission, it starts with ideas in a sketch book. From there I will make a colour sketch in watercolour and then draw the cut line. That will have lots of detail, so that I can trace from the cut line straight onto the glass. The tracing gets fired and then any shading, sand blasting or silver staining follows the tracing.
Frans makes detailed designs for new pieces, this one being in watercolour.
What is your favourite tool or piece of equipment and why?
A dip-pen. Virtually everything I do starts with a pen drawing. I even use one for tracing on to glass. Mixing the paint with clove oil allows it to flow from a pen. I don’t know quite why, but I am just comfortable with it. I was given a glass pen holder in Venice once, and I still like using it.
Your quirky designs have a sense of fun. What message do you want to covey to your audience through your work?
‘Message’ is a rather big word… The things that are my subjects are the smaller things in life, the interactions between people or people and animals or people and the things in their head, and chance encounters. A kind of visual poetry, maybe. I am as concerned as the next person about the big issues, but I have not found a way to introduce them in my work that convinces me. The sense of fun, of wonder, is something I do experience and I hope I can convey that to others.
‘A Winter’s Tale’, stained glass panels on plinth, (45x35x9.5cm).
Do you have a favourite piece you have made? Why is it your favourite?
That is not an easy question. The moment I have finished something, I am aware of all the flaws. Sometimes, when I see a piece after several years, I can appreciate it better. My favourite piece is always the one I am about to make.
What I do really like are the sketch books of my travels, or the portrait sketches of friends, because of the memories associated with them. They are done quickly, of course, without any other object than to catch that moment, that view. I don’t take a camera when I go away, so the drawings are what there is. They are also often the basis for other work. My ‘Rickshaw’ piece is straight from the sketch book.
This piece, ‘Auto rickshaw’, (23x21cm), was based on a quick sketch.
Where do you show and sell your work?
There are a number of galleries around the country that regularly take my work; Primavera in Cambridge, For Art’s Sake in London, the Old Chapel Gallery in Pembridge, McGillDuncan in Castle Douglas, Montpellier in Stratford, plus the Bevere Gallery in Worcester. I also get approached for commissions.
This ‘Garden window’ was a private commission (117x104cm).
Do you have a career highlight?
Just over ten years ago I designed and made a series of windows associated with ‘Godiva awakes’, an Olympics-related project based in Coventry. It was interesting and required a lot of research. However, though I made the windows, the building they were intended for was never built. As far as I know, they are still languishing in their crates somewhere. More recently I made a set of ‘Creation’ windows for a private chapel. They were installed and enhanced the small building, as I hoped they would.
Who or what inspires you?
Any number of things inspire me – things I see, things that I have experienced myself, or that someone tells me about. Then there are things that I read, like poetry, the Bible, Shakespeare.
I like drawing. I do quite a bit of life drawing. I may just go out to see what I can find. Sometimes I go through my old sketch books and find things that I think I can do something with.
Part of the stained glass panel ‘Midsummer Night’ awaiting leading.
How has the coronavirus impacted your practice?
It hasn’t really impacted me in the sense of making things, but of course all exhibitions were cancelled in 2020 and events only began coming back slowly in 2021. Nevertheless, I have continued to receive commissions. When everything stopped in March 2020, I did quite a bit of painting and I think I have made some progress there. I also did quite a bit of cycling; it was a lovely Spring.
This ‘Cheshire cat’ (30cm diameter) was made for a porthole on a narrow boat.
Is there anything else you want to add?
As a teenager I thought it would be good to be a painter. From then on, I did everything I could to achieve that goal. It has worked out quite different to what I imagined; I feel I have failed to get anywhere near those artists that I admired. It has been hard work and, at times, quite difficult, financially. But it has been so interesting, and I am still enjoying what I do every day.
About the artist Frans Wesselman R.E. was born in The Hague, Netherlands. Between 1970 and 1975 he studied for a diploma to teach art and art history in Tilburg, Netherlands, followed in 1977/1978 by a diploma in print making and photography at the Akademie Minerva, Groningen, Netherlands.
He has been a Member of the Royal Society of Painter-Printmakers since 1982.
He exhibited at the British Glass Biennale in 2006, 2008 and 2019, and is represented in several galleries.
Submissions are invited for the 2022 British Glass Biennale and the inaugural International Bead Biennale, to be launched at the renowned International Festival of Glass at Stourbridge, UK, in August 2022.
Since its inception in 2004 the International Festival of Glass has celebrated and showcased the skill and innovation of the glass industry and makers, historic and contemporary, local and international.
At the heart of the International Festival of Glass is the British Glass Biennale, celebrated as the ‘foremost juried exhibition of excellence in contemporary glass’ by UK based artists, designers and craftspeople and British artists working abroad.
The exhibition features the latest work from across the whole spectrum of glass techniques and uses an anonymous selection process, giving emerging artists an equal opportunity to be selected alongside the top names in British glass.
In addition, this year the International Bead Biennale is being held for the first time as part of the Festival.
The International Bead Biennale is open to artists, designers, craftspeople and students of all nationalities worldwide, who create beads where glass is the key design element. All glassmaking techniques are acceptable, as long as the piece conforms to the concept of a bead. The maximum bead size is 10cm x 8cm.
For both exhibitions the emphasis is on new work demonstrating the highest level of excellence in design, creative imagination and technical skill.
Each exhibition will be selected by separate expert juries in March 2022.
You can apply for both exhibitions providing you meet all the criteria.
Deadline: midnight on 27 February 2022.
British Glass Biennale prizes: British Glass Biennale Best in Show, The Glass Sellers Main and Student Awards, The Glass Arts Society (GAS) International Artists’ Prize, Guild of Glass Engravers Prize, Glass Society Best Newcomer Award, Glass Society ‘Uniting the Planet’ Themed Prize, The People’s Prize sponsored by Warm Glass, plus the Young Collectors’ Award, sponsored by Mark Holford.
International Bead Biennale prizes: International Bead Biennale Award for Best in Show and International Bead Biennale Award Runner Up. Prizes sponsored by Barbara Beadman.
The exhibitions launch on 26 August 2022 and continue until 1 October 2022. They will be open from Tuesday to Saturday from 10am-4pm. A private view and awards ceremony will be held by invitation only on 25 August 2022.
The British Glass Biennale and International Bead Biennale will take place at the Glasshouse Arts Centre, Ruskin Glass Centre, Wollaston Road, Amblecote, Stourbridge DY8 4HF, UK. Find out more at: www.glassbiennale.org and www.ifg.org.uk.
‘Glass Now’ has been launched on the Contemporary Glass Society’s (CGS) website and is the first of the organisation’s online exhibitions for 2022 featuring members’ work. It kicks off the CGS’s 25th anniversary year celebrations, which will feature a host of new shows and activities, both virtual and in person, highlighting excellence in contemporary glass art.
The 50 CGS member artists featured in Glass Now are the personal choices of CGS Trustee Nicola Schellander and Linda Banks, the Editor of the CGS online magazine Glass Network digital.
“We wanted to feature artists whose work has fascinated and inspired us and who we feel make a statement about glass today; this is why we have invited these artists to take part,” explained Nicola.
“We have not been able to include all members, as CGS has over 1000 artists! However we have put together a selection that we hope provides you with a representative overview of the techniques, variety of inspiration and excellence in the medium of glass.”
Alongside this, Glass Now provides an overview of CGS’s worldwide reach as an organisation and includes a selection of work from international members of CGS.
“It was certainly difficult to select a restricted number of glass artists for this show,” said Linda. “I now appreciate the challenges faced by the curators of exhibitions and competition judges when they have to choose just a small sample of artworks from a host of excellent entries. Glass Now presents some great examples of glass artists who are pushing the boundaries of glass art today, both in terms of technique and subject matter.”
Glass sculptures made between 1965 and the present day will be on display in a new exhibition at the Henry Moore Institute in Leeds, UK. The show, entitled ‘A State of Matter: Modern and Contemporary Glass Sculpture’, opens on 18 February 2022.
It presents work by 16 artists and explores glass through its three different states of matter: solid, liquid and gas, which roughly correspond to techniques such as cast glass, poured molten glass, and blown glass.
The glass sculpture exhibition showcases the material properties of glass as a medium, and the ways in which artists have worked with, or against, these properties.
Nicholas Pope’s ‘Untitled’ (2015). Courtesy of the National Glass Centre. Photo: David Williams.
The exhibition is curated by the Henry Moore Institute’s Research Curator Dr Clare O’Dowd who says, “Glass is a mysterious and wonderful thing. Alongside its aesthetic qualities, the alchemical and secretive production processes involved in working with glass have rendered it an especially troublesome proposition for sculptors. The sculpture on display in this exhibition shows the breadth of ways sculptors have got to grips with the material.
“Interest in glass as a material for sculpture has never been greater. From the success of Netflix’s ‘Blown Away’ TV series, to the UN’s support for the International Year of Glass and the development of this major exhibition, glass is truly having its moment in the spotlight.”
This exhibition highlights some of the ways artists have worked with glass, sometimes using its common properties, sometimes challenging them, and often whilst making profound underlying comments on issues of identity or human frailty.
The show also explores some of the collaborations between artists and master glassmakers, as shown in many of the works generously loaned by the National Glass Centre in Sunderland.
The artists represented in the exhibition are:
Solid (cast, moulded, lamp-worked and rolled glass): Erwin Eisch; Luke Jerram; Joseph Kosuth; Silvia Levenson; Bruce McLean; Alena Matějka and Elliot Walker.
Liquid (melted, poured, dripped or stretched glass): Alexandra Engelfriet; Claire Falkenstein and Petr Stanicky.
Gas (blown glass): The De La Torre Brothers; Maria Bang Espersen; Mona Hatoum; Hew Locke; Nicholas Pope and Emma Woffenden.
‘A State of Matter: Modern and Contemporary Glass Sculpture’, takes place from 18 February-5 June 2022 at the Henry Moore Institute, The Headrow, Leeds, LS1 3AH. It is open from Tuesday to Sunday, 10am-5pm, and entry is free. More information: https://www.henry-moore.org
The Henry Moore Foundation was established by Henry Moore, recognised as one of the great sculptors of the 20th century, and his family, in 1977, to encourage public appreciation of the visual arts. As part of the Henry Moore Foundation, the Henry Moore Institute is a hub for sculpture, connecting a global network of artists and scholars, continuing research into the art form and ensuring that sculpture is accessible and celebrated by a wide audience.
Main image: ‘Tele Komm Komm 027-418’ (1998) by Erwin Eisch. Courtesy National Glass Centre. Photo: David Williams.
Glass paperweight enthusiast Ian Cummings provides a brief history of these fascinating and practical works of art, plus some tips for new collectors.
Opinions are divided about where the first glass paperweights were made and who made them. Most people will say that they were first made in Venice on the island of Murano. Others, however, believe that they originated in the Central European region known as Silesia, in the early 1840s.
What we do know is that Venetian glassmaker Pietro Bigaglia first exhibited paperweights at the Industrial Exposition in Vienna in 1845 along with his other glassware. These early Venetian weights were mostly scrambles containing lengths of coloured glass ‘ribbon’ and what is known as ‘lace’ or ‘muslin’. Bigaglia also incorporated millefiori canes in his weights as well as silhouette, date and signature canes (see main image).
Bigaglia’s paperweights – or letterweights as they were called at that time – attracted the attention of representatives from all the major European glass companies. They obviously saw the potential of this new encased art form, and were quick to adopt the idea, because within a year or so paperweights were being produced in France, England, Silesia and Bohemia, followed, some years later, by the United States and Russia.
Probably the most famous producers were the ‘big three’ French glass makers Baccarat, St Louis and Clichy. By the 1850s smaller French companies such as St. Mandé, Grenelle and, later, Pantin, were also producing paperweights. Perhaps because of their prolific output the French companies have tended to eclipse the paperweights made by other 19th Century producers, such as Bacchus and Richardson in England, Harrach in Bohemia and the Josephine glassworks in Silesia. However, in recent years, there has been a reappraisal of the work of some of the sidelined makers.
The heyday of paperweights – what is known as the ‘classic period’ – is generally considered to be the years between 1845 and 1865. The ‘post-classic’ period – certainly in Central Europe – can be said to have begun as early as the 1870s/80s and continued into the 1920s.
The age of ‘modern’ paperweights began in the 1930s in Scotland with the pioneering artistry of Paul Ysart, the son of a Spanish immigrant. In America it was slightly later, when a handful of glass artists such as Charles Kaziun Jnr., re-discovered the ‘lost art’ of millefiori and lampworking and began to develop new methods of working with hot glass.
In the early 1950s Paul Jokelson, an American collector, persuaded Baccarat and St. Louis to restart production of paperweights. Although these companies had been at the forefront of production 100 years earlier, the techniques had been forgotten and it took some time before they were able to make paperweights of a comparable quality to those they had produced in the mid-19th Century. Today St. Louis continues to produce a limited number of paperweights, but Baccarat phased out production in 2002.
An antique Baccarat close-packed millefiori paperweight.
The traditional technique most commonly associated with glass paperweights is millefiori. Millefiori paperweights contain patterns made from thin slices of colourful glass rods, which can have a relatively simple or extremely complex design. The canes are set in a mould prior to being encased in glass. The glass dome magnifies the canes. A millefiori weight can contain hundreds of such canes, all arranged by hand.
Examples of simple and complex millefiori canes.
The other technique commonly used to create paperweights is lampwork. Lampwork paperweights contain motifs which have been assembled from pieces of shaped coloured glass. The motif may be flowers, fruit, or butterflies, but fish, birds and snakes are also popular subjects. The lampworked pieces must be carefully assembled before being encapsulated in a protective glass dome and it takes great skill to produce even the simplest design. Care has to be taken not to distort the lampwork or to trap air bubbles in the finished paperweight.
An antique lampworked flower paperweight.
In the late 1960s new paperweight styles emerged, featuring abstract designs and unconventional shapes. This trend was spearheaded by Caithness Glass and Selkirk Glass in Scotland. Although these paperweights found favour with some collectors, they have not displaced the popularity of more traditional styles and shapes.
Today the large glassworks of the past have given way to smaller glass studios and artists working on their own. Although there are still a number of glass artists making collector-quality paperweights in Europe, mainly in the UK and France, plus a few other countries, it is American artists, making lampwork and surface-decorated paperweights, who dominate today’s market.
Paul Stankard’s Fruit & Flower Bouquet paperweight.
Where to start with paperweight collecting
These miniature works of art were never cheap and exceptional pieces still command high prices. For anyone starting to collect weights, the old adage still applies: buy the best you can afford. Prices for antique weights are currently below what they were even 10 years ago. The internet and eBay have certainly had an impact here.
The most common flower weights, such as antique Baccarat Pansies, can be found in general auctions for a couple of hundred pounds, whereas an antique Clichy convolvulus will probably fetch five figures!
Perthshire Paperweights opened in 1968. This Bouquet design dates from 1978.
New collectors wanting reasonably priced paperweights should look out for those issued by Perthshire Paperweights, which opened in 1968 in Scotland and quickly gained a reputation for quality. Every year, in addition to its general range of mainly millefiori paperweights, the company issued an Annual Collection of limited editions. Although financial constraints forced the factory to close in early 2002, Perthshire weights frequently appear on the secondary market and are an excellent way of starting a collection.
There are a number of good reference books available and it is worthwhile studying these when starting out.
Chinese concentric design paperweight.
The garishly-coloured millefiori weights that are ‘bargains’ at car-boot sales invariably turn out to be Chinese – and are best avoided!
About the author
Ian Cummings has been the editor of the Paperweight Collectors Circle’s newsletter since 2015. He has been collecting paperweights for over 20 years. His collection includes antique weights as well as modern European and American paperweights. Through his company, weights-n-things, Ian also sells paperweights.
About the Paperweight Collectors Circle The Paperweight Collectors Circle was founded in 1981 in Cambridge, England, and has members worldwide. The club holds meetings at different venues in the UK and publishes its newsletter three times a year. Details about membership can be found at: https://www.paperweightcollectorscircle.com, or contact paperweightcollectorscircle@gmail.com
All photos in this article are by Ian Cummings.
Main image:A Bigaglia paperweight with signature and date cane.
In October 2021, glass artists were invited to submit proposals for an outstanding artwork, to be displayed in the new Stourbridge Glass Museum’s (SGM) entrance foyer.
The commission was jointly organised by the Contemporary Glass Society (CGS) and the SGM, which will house one of the finest collections of both traditional and modern glass in Europe when it opens later in 2022.
The collaboration is one of many events organised by CGS throughout 2022 to highlight its 25-year anniversary.
The selection panel, comprised of members from SGM and the CGS, wanted an artwork that would stop visitors in their tracks, while also being dazzling and thought provoking.
Three designs were selected for further scrutiny and artist interviews from the many interesting proposals. The shortlisted artists were Chris Day, Sacha Delabre and Anthony McCabe.
“It was a very hard decision to choose between these three artists, as all of the proposals would have complemented the space,” said Susan Purser Hope, chair of the CGS. “However, we were captivated by the storytelling and inclusive history of the UK and, in particular, glass making in Stourbridge, that featured in one presentation.”
That presentation was by Chris Day, who won with his proposal for a piece entitled, ‘After the Darkness the Light’.
Chris explained, “In the late 17th century, an estimated 50,000 Protestant Walloons and Huguenots fled to England [from northern France and Holland], about 10,000 of whom moved on to Ireland. In relative terms, this could be the largest wave of immigration of a single community into Britain ever.
“Unfortunately, today Britain is still impacted by the immigration of people fleeing persecution and war. One of the problems faced by these people is the label society has placed on them due to the negative representation of the media and some political bodies. The Huguenots left a legacy in the glass industry, and I would like to create a piece of work that represents a positive view of immigrants and how they have enriched Britain’s landscape throughout history.
“My family were part of the Windrush era and faced the ugly side of racism from the start. I feel that stigma is now being placed on this new wave of people instead of seeing the benefit they could bring.
“I would like the work to open a discussion about immigrants and change the dialogue that we have all seen in the press. I want to celebrate and acknowledge the positive achievements that they bring.
“The boat has always been a way of getting to this country and I would like to create a boat shape using the copper structure I have developed in my work and use colours that represent the flags of the different counties of people who have come to Britain.
“The copper structure will be blown into, to create a tension in the work, while the bright colour disguises this with its beauty.”
A previous glass and copper boat design made by Chris Day.
This commission represents a special coming together of two of Britain’s major promoters of contemporary glass – the CGS and SGM. It is a unique opportunity to celebrate the future, whilst gratefully acknowledging the foundations on which the wonderful world of glass is built.
This new, contemporary glass artwork will be installed and officially unveiled at SGM during the International Festival of Glass, in August 2022. It will welcome and draw visitors into the museum and will become part of its permanent collection.
Stourbridge Glass Museum is based at: Stuart Works, High Street, Stourbridge DY8 4FB, UK. (Please note that it is not opening to the public until April 2022.)
Main image: Chris Day’s sketch design for a boat-shaped glass and copper sculpture, which won the competition.
Contemporary Glass Society (CGS) members are invited to submit their glass works to the ‘Joyful Reflections’ exhibition, to be held at the New Ashgate Gallery, Farnham, Surrey.
This curated exhibition takes place from Saturday 30 April until Saturday 11 June 2022.
In this show, the CGS is looking for work from artists that shows quality and the beauty of glass. All our lives have been turned upside down since March 2020. Many of us have experienced highs and lows, fear and boredom, illness and isolation. Through it all, a solace has been the sanctuary of our work and the beauty of the material of glass.
We invite you to step back from the sadness of the pandemic and to embrace the joy of life now. Reflect upon the glorious and mysterious properties of glass – its transparency, its uniqueness, the variety of techniques it offers, its ability to reflect back at us – and for us to express joyful reflections on life and glass!
The selection panel includes Outi Remes from the New Ashgate Gallery, a CGS Board member and an independent artist.
One piece of work can be submitted, or a group of small pieces that does not exceed the maximum dimensions of 75cm high x 75cm wide x 30cm deep. Wall pieces and plinth-based work are acceptable.
Entrants must be CGS members so, if you are not yet a member but would like the opportunity to take part in this show, why not join here?
Work submitted for consideration must have been made after 1 January 2018 and must be for sale.
For full details and the application form, please click this link.
Please note the submission deadline: 5pm on Tuesday 18 January 2022.
CGS is delighted to be working with the New Ashgate Gallery in its 25th Anniversary Year. This is one of a series of special events and exhibitions being held to celebrate this landmark achievement and showcase contemporary glass in 2022.
A new solo show, ‘Distant Electric Vision’, featuring glass artist Jon Lewis, is on now at Vessel Gallery in London.
Engaged with themes of recycling, the creative synthesis of glass with metal, and the transformation of outmoded consumer products into art, this exhibition showcases new works conceived from the artist’s unlimited imagination. From scorched meteorites to sculptural trains, Vessel says this exhibition “will surprise, intrigue and astound”.
Artworks include Lewis’s Moon Rocks, an ongoing series first created in 1998. These tactile pieces incorporate dichroic filters which reflect light of a chosen frequency, while absorbing the rest. When they are placed between two layers of glass with a diffused surface, the resulting object has a shimmering inner glow that changes colour depending on the angle of the light – a technique Lewis invented. Lewis states, “They look like they’ve fallen out of the sky and are a significant artistic and surprising technical discovery, which still delights and amazes me over 20 years later.”
His Apertura series pieces are formed from recycled obsolescent Bang & Olufsen television screens. The optical glass, which has a high lead content, is melted down and blown into amorphic fluid forms. Each piece is then showered with sparks of iron ore which fuse with the surface of the glass upon impact. Lewis calls this unique process ‘spark impregnation’. This metallic layer is then patinated, to age and weather the exterior. An ‘aperture’ of glass is left uncovered to echo a television screen, providing a penetrating observation window.
The term ‘Distant Electric Vision’ was coined in 1908 by the engineer A A Campbell Swinton, who presciently described the principles of the television years before the technology existed to make one. Lewis carries this vision into reality, fusing prehistoric and futuristic themes in his art.
Lewis was awarded the Glass Society Prize at the British Glass Biennale 2019. His Transceiver received an Honourable Mention in Trace – Showcasing Sustainable Glass Art, in the Glass Art Society’s Virtual 2021 Conference.
His dichroic glass has been used in prestigious architectural commissions, including in the Space Pyramidion at the Child Museum of Cairo and the Bliegiessen Sculpture by Thomas Heatherwick at the Wellcome Collection. His work is in the permanent collection of the Glasmuseum Lette, Germany.
The Jon Lewis solo show is on now until 18 February 2022 at Vessel Gallery, between 11am and 5pm, Monday to Friday.
Cara Wassenberg was the successful applicant for the Contemporary Glass Society’s Amanda Moriarty award in 2019. Her prize was a two-week residency with renowned kiln-cast glass expert, Colin Reid. Owing to the pandemic, Cara’s second week at the studio was delayed until October 2021. Here she tells the story of her residency experience, which she used to create three glass artworks on the themes of support or restriction.
It seems amazing that I have only just completed a residency that I applied for in February 2019 – two years and eight months on! But we live in extraordinary times.
During my first week at Colin’s studio I had worked on developing three glass pieces that would be combined with steel rebar elements.
In the months between my first and second week of residency, I tweaked, sandblasted and finished the forged steel rebar grilles that I had used to impress texture into my clay originals. They were finished with a waxed Ferric Nitrate-produced patina. The idea was to fit these metal elements back into the grooves and channels of the cast borosilicate glass forms after cold working.
Day 1
Karen, Colin’s assistant, met me as Colin was away until the next day. It was great to see her and talk about glass again, recall our various lockdown experiences and ask many practical questions, such as: Can you cast glass a second time? What really is devitrification? How do you promote veiling? Is flashing a good thing?
My three pieces consisted of two based on constricted tree forms (44cm and 36cm high), and one cast from a clod of stony earth (14 x 26 x 30cm) that I named Cotswold Clod (see main feature image). All had been impressed with my forged steel grilles.
Before any fine-tuning could take place, a lot of basic forming was required. I had misjudged the amount of glass needed in the moulds using the water displacement method, so the surplus had to be cut off. Karen suggested this could be milled off but I wanted to use only equipment that I had in my own workshop. I have an air compressor, so air tools were ok. I removed the excess with an air grinder and cutting disc. I then started grinding back areas after crosshatching them with marker pen to ensure I didn’t miss one. I went against my own principles when I used the flatbed and Aluminium oxide to level the bases.
I then spent painful hours trying to decide how to make sense of the Tree forms. What is it about glass? It seems to have life of its own, despite the most careful initial mould making of the Gelflex forms and fitting of the steel forms back to the waxes. Shrinkage and distortion appeared to have taken place. An added challenge was the sheer length of time that had elapsed since my initial drawings, when I conceived the idea of split tree guards and saplings; momentum had been lost.
Having more or less given up hope of slotting the grilles back into the glass tree forms, I started sanding down the roughly chopped areas and then threw began boldly cutting away with the air grinder, deciding on the form and facets to be polished in a much more spontaneous way.
The glass is shaped with an air grinder. Photo: Cara Wassenberg.
‘Cotswold Clod’ was a better fit with the steel grille and less cold working was needed. I cut away underneath so that the base was as small as possible, bringing more lightness and making it appear less lumpy and top-heavy. Karen suggested grinding and polishing the base to let more light in. This is not usually advised because the bottom of a piece is easily scratched, but it worked well in this context and it could be protected with small gel feet. I succumbed to the easy joy of the automatic, vibrating reciprolap and the next day returned to find my clod had a wonderfully smooth, shiny bottom.
Cotswold Clod was smoothed on an automatic reciprolap bed. Photo: Cara Wassenberg.The polished underside of Cotswold Clod. Photo: Cara Wassenberg.
Day 2
I continued to cut and work my tree forms, which were becoming more tusk-like. I felt like a stone or ice sculptor. I cold worked holes to push the grills in, but they still seemed like an add-on. I let the shape and texture of the pieces dictate the form to me. Embracing a more spontaneous approach felt good and the hours passed quickly as I imprinted more texture, using the domed head of the air die grinder and the electric foot-pedalled flexi drive for more precise areas.
The tree forms begin to look more tusk-like. Photo: Cara Wassenberg.
In the afternoon Karen was packing up a piece of Colin’s work to send to a gallery and she explained some of the best ways to construct a packing case. She used 10mm plywood with rope handles, arranging 10cm thick foam around the edges, which she glued to the box with a spray adhesive used for upholstery. Such practical chats were informative about how to run a studio.
The residency provided many opportunities to learn all aspects of running a studio, including how to pack glass. Photo: Cara Wassenberg.
Day 3
In the morning the sandblaster and I got to know each other. Colin has an American beast of a machine and it made light work of both the Cotswold clod and brought greater uniformity to the tree form pieces. The ground down areas merged with the textured parts and at last I could see them as homogenous pieces.
Cara had the use of the studio equipment, including the sandblaster.The sandblasting process provided greater uniformity to the Tree forms. Photo: Cara Wassenberg.
Colin gave me a ‘tutorial‘ about firing schedules, which was immensely helpful and gave me more confidence. I learnt a new word from Colin: ‘Crizzle’. This means something between crack and fizzle and is what happens when you plunge hot glass into cold water in a tin bucket to make frit.
Day 4
Cara worked with a variety of polishing pads to smooth her artworks. Photo: Cara Wassenberg.
The polishing day dawned. I had pinpointed some areas of my tree forms where I wanted to let the light in and Colin showed me how to work my way up from a green Diasol pad to a brown smoothing pad on the pneumatic air polisher, to achieve a flawless, polished finish. This was learning by doing and there was something very meditative in this methodical process. Once I had carefully crosshatched and polished away the spines, I saw the power of a particular polished area in contrast with a sandblasted textured one. I loved being able to highlight a definite ridge and was seduced by the languid depths of veiling. I realised that, with relatively simple purchases, I could achieve the same results in my cowshed.
The two Tree Forms I and II that Cara made during her residency. Photo: Cara Wassenberg.
My pieces were nearly finished. I masked off the polished areas and gave all the pieces a final sandblasting and treated those matt areas with a protective liquid called Clear Shield.
Day 5
Colin takes all his own photos and gets great results. After so many years of experience he knows his subject, his equipment and audience well and he has found his formula. He backlights his polished glass against a black background and generally uses only one, and sometimes two, Bowen studio lights. I had brought my own Canon camera with me which wasn’t too dissimilar to his.
Colin Reid’s photography set-up. Photo: Cara Wassenberg.
He helped me set up my pieces and I used his flash head to link his studio light operation to my camera. I spent the next couple of hours getting some shots, systematically adjusting the aperture to a range of exposures. The quality of the results was impressive, and I understood how to achieve similar results at home.
Cara Wassenberg’s Tree form showing the incorporated steel. Photo: Cara Wassenberg.
That afternoon I loaded up my van with three new pieces of work, but that was just the half of it. More importantly, I left armed with more techniques than I could have imagined. Despite the pandemic, both parts of this residency took place at exactly the right time for me in my life and work practice. I had had a good idea of what I needed to learn, but I had no idea that the whole experience would be so comprehensive and fulfilling.
I have notebooks full of information and new tools on order and I know that it will feed into my work and workshop practice. My mould-making process is already greatly improved and now I can start letting light in to my copper pieces through areas of cast class.
I want to say a huge and sincere ‘thank you’ to the board of the Contemporary Glass Society for giving me this opportunity, and of course to Karen Browning for all her knowledge and help. My final thanks must go to Colin himself for inviting me into his beautiful, creative studio and sharing his vast expertise, knowledge of technique and his time.
If you would like to read the blogs leading up to this second week of residency, please follow this link to my website https://carawassenberg.com/news/.
About the artist Cara Wassenberg studied Fine Art in Coventry in 1986 and went on to specialise in metalwork and design at Hereford Technical College. She has worked with artists and metalsmiths in London, Lisbon, Memphis and Berlin.
In 2012 she worked with the French copper smith Christoph Desvallees in Normandy.
In 2017 she completed a Masters degree in Metal Work and Glass at the University of the Creative Arts, Farnham. Following this, she began incorporating cast glass into her work.
She teaches metals-based short courses at West Dean College of Arts and Conservation alongside her own studio practice.
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