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Putting on the Glitz

Highly accomplished glass artist KeKe Cribbs uses a broad range of glass and sculptural techniques to create exquisite, sparkly treasures that captivate her audience. Here she speaks to CGS Glass Network digital’s editor, Linda Banks, about her processes and inspirations.

What led you to start working with glass?
I was living in Santa Fe, New Mexico and working in a gallery when I discovered a book on the prehistoric Mimbres peoples. They painted black and white imagery on pottery. I fell in love with the simple, narrative style and, riffing off of it, I began making pen and ink drawings of contemporary life in Santa Fe. The drawings were full of humour and the gallery where I worked offered to show the work in a two-person show.

During the opening of that show, an architect and his wife offered me a commission; if I could figure out how to get my drawings onto glass, they wanted me to put imagery on all the glass cabinet doors in their kitchen. After some research, I discovered acid paste and took on the commission. I had never thought about glass as a creative material, but the discovery led me to learn about sandblasting and engraving. Eventually, it took me on to glass blowers and the whole big world of glass, just when it was really taking off in the 1980s. I landed up at Pilchuck Glass School in 1984.

KeKe Cribbs in the studio, creating her latest mixed media artwork.

What glass techniques have you used in your career and why do you prefer reverse fired enamels today?
I spent many years perfecting my sand carving and engraving skills. I started out working on forms that were gaffed for me in blown glass, but eventually moved on to working more with flat glass, which I incorporated into sculptural work. This allowed me to work much larger. It also required me to learn many other skills so that I could work in sculptural materials, such as wood, metal and concrete.

I loved the pieces that I made, but I was frustrated with the work being so light dependent. Ultimately, I wanted more colour. I explored reverse painting on the glass with oils and sign painting enamels, which are semi stable. The vitreous enamels offered more stability and also the advantage of truly transparent colours. Although my reverse paintings on glass appear opaque, they are comprised of many layers, which are built up with transparent colours to create greater depth. There are no colours in art that are as rich as a reverse-painted piece of glass! And I can cut up my paintings to use for mosaics … It’s perfect!

This Boat piece, ‘Caitlin’, was a recent commission (2021). The other side is shown in the main feature image. It is made using reverse fired enamels on glass, glass mosaics, thin shell concrete, painted wood and sheet aluminium.

Can you tell us something about how you developed your working methods? Do you draw your designs out or dive in with the materials?
I have the dual personality of wanting to be loose and intuitive and, at the same time, I am precise and attracted to pattern. I think all of my work displays a bit of both. I used to be more precise when drawing on the glass; I would make drawings on paper which would sit under the glass as a guide. I don’t do that now.

My tendency is to blacken the glass with enamel, building up texture using a brush, palette knife, etc, and then rubbing off most of the enamel. This leaves traces and patterns where the enamel was thicker. Then I may see an image in the marks that remain and start to build it out from there, using quill pens and brushes. I also do a lot of sgraffito to refine my drawing lines and create hash marks and shadows. It’s a more intuitive way of drawing and working.

Of course, if I am making a boat or something like that, I need to be an engineer and a craftsman to build that part out from scratch, and that is a more exacting part of the work. Everything I do takes a very long time.

This Boat piece is called ‘MaiWai’ (2014). It measures 23″ x 32″ x 9.5″.
Detail from ‘MaiWai’ Boat piece.

Who or what inspires you?
Oddly, textiles would be at the top of my list: all things ancient, all things primitive, all things finely crafted. I am enamoured of ancient gold works from Rome, Greece, South America, Africa and around the world. Much of that work has both pattern and texture, just as an exquisitely embroidered medieval garment might, so that is part of it. The Surrealist and Dada painters, Nick Cave, and quite a bit of electronic music … I guess I take influences from all over the place.

What is your favourite tool or piece of equipment and why?
Well, I have to have a kiln if I am firing enamels on glass. Next to that, it would be my Toyo glass cutters and mini glass mosaic nippers, my quill pens and liner brushes and awl for sgraffito. It would be hard to manage without all those things.

A lot of your work has a dreamlike quality. What message(s) do you want to convey to your audience through your artwork?
As a person who works intuitively, I don’t really start out with an exact concept. Rather, I have an emotion, which seems to be realised through imagery that becomes symbolic. In that sense, it is like sharing a dream. As with a film, or a great novel, imagery can convey mystery and emotion that the viewer personalises and turns into their own story. That is what interests me.

‘Bumble’ (2021) uses torn linen, gold paint, reverse fired enamels on glass and mosaics, mounted on board.

You opened the Treasure Trove Art space in 2017. What led you to this decision and how has it impacted artists?
My main sources of income had been The Scott Jacobson Gallery in New York (originally Leo Kaplan Modern), and the big Sculpture Objects Functional Art and Design (SOFA) fair. So, when Scott closed the gallery and the American elections happened and brought chaos, I decided to try and do something different.

I found a tiny space for rent in a non-profit building that was designed to help small businesses get a head start. The model I created gave the artist 70% of sales. I combined all kinds of treasures in one 11 x 12-foot space. I mixed my own, more expensive, works with small originals by teenagers and newcomers and a big price range. I wanted to give creativity a chance and to encourage ‘making’. I also had books and freely gave technical advice to the curious.

As an adjunct, I also managed a larger rental gallery, where people could have their own shows of work that they might not be able to show in a normal gallery setting. The glass artist Dick Marquis rented the space and put on a terrific exhibition of his framed Collections of Stuff; it was fabulous!

In my heart, I just wanted to encourage freedom of expression and give people a place to do that. Sadly, it only lasted one year, as I could not afford to keep it going.

Do you have a favourite piece you have made? Why is it your favourite?
That is a tough question! Every so often, I make a piece I just want to keep, because I have made some breakthrough on it, which really means I have bypassed what the galleries are expecting or wanting.

For years, I wanted to make more wall pieces and do more painting on glass, only to be discouraged by their insistence on more large pedestal pieces. With the amount of work that goes into my pieces, I cannot possibly compete with blown work, which is the king of pedestal pieces in a glass gallery; one of my Boat pieces can take two-to-three months to make!

‘Celestina the Moon Queen’ (2020) is a recent mosaic piece. It stands 40″ tall and is comprised of reverse fired enamels on glass mosaics, crystal, copper, thin shell concrete and painted wood.

So, when I can let go of the little voice inside that tries to lead me in ONE direction, I can celebrate. I am in the middle of just such a moment with my new glass and linen wall pieces. They are all attached to one wall piece from 2010 that I keep in my bedroom, titled ’Raggedy Man DownUnder’; that is how long it has taken me to finally return to what I might call collaging with glass on a flat surface. I also call it ‘Painting with Glass Inclusions’, partly because I feel that gives me the most freedom to use my materials however I want.

KeKe’s newest work, ‘Carnelian Patois’ (2021), uses torn linen, paint, mirror shards and reverse fired enamels.

Where do you show and sell your work?
I guess I am in a transition moment. As I said, some of the galleries have closed or changed too much for me to feel at home there. I have had galleries contacting me since 1980 but, in the last five or six years, everything has changed as economies struggle.

Currently, I have a show scheduled for August 2021 at BAC [Bainbridge Arts and Crafts] on Bainbridge Island in Washington State. BAC is a non-profit gallery that invites artists from all over the Northwest to put on interesting exhibitions. Debora Ruzinsky, the new Executive Director, has given me free rein to make whatever I want. So I am!

I have spent the last eight months exploring my desire to make ‘Paintings with Glass Inclusions’ and I am really excited about seeing all the work hanging together in one space. It should be quite luminescent and sparkly. Then, perhaps I will look for a more permanent relationship with a gallery that loves my work.

‘Linty Pockets’ (2021) is an example of KeKe’s recent exploration of ‘Painting with Glass Inclusions’. This mosaic painting features reverse fired enamels on glass mosaics, paint and wood.

Do you have a career highlight?
That would be my first show of Mimbres drawings, which got me started… and every one-person show after that. And also some grand commission works, such as a full-sized door for a New York apartment.

How has the coronavirus impacted your practice?
Interestingly, it has caused issues with me getting supplies, which has pushed me to use only what I have at hand. That, in turn, has spurred me into my current work of using linen and glass as materials for paintings. The same aspects that made it confining are the ones that gave me freedom; no small irony there! Certainly, there is a lack of outside distractions, which also helps to keep one in the studio.

Now I can see my daughter Alicia Lomne again, I feel centred; that was the hardest part. I am just looking forward and I am glad to use my time as well as possible. I make art, garden, pet my cats and hold my family dear and close. What else is there?

About the artist
KeKe Cribbs was born in Colorado in 1951. She lived in Ireland, France, Corsica and New Mexico before making her home on Whidbey Island after attending Pilchuck Glass School in 1984.

She has taught at Pilchuck Glass School and the Penland School of Crafts and, in 1986, she started a Glass teaching programme at the Swain School of Design, which later became Southeastern Massachusetts University (SMU) in South Dartmouth.

She has also taught workshops at the Toyama Institute of Glass Art (TIGA), in Japan, and participated in the Stourbridge Glass Festival in the UK in 2019.

Her work had been collected internationally, by the Corning Glass Museum, NY, the L.A. County Museum, CA, the Racine Art Museum, WI, Tacoma Art Museum and Tacoma Glass Museum, WA, and the Hokkaido Museum of Modern Art, Japan.

Find out more about KeKe and her work on her website: https://kekecribbs.com

Luxembourg glass festival features artist demonstrations

The 9th International Glass Festival 2021 Luxembourg takes place from 19-22 August 2021. The event will present a juried glass symposium and exhibition, featuring glass artists and students from Europe and farther afield, to celebrate contemporary glass art.

Professional artists and students from around the world will demonstrate their skills in glass blowing, casting, pâte de verre, fusing, slumping, bead making, mosaics, stained glass, Tiffany technique, glass painting, sand blasting, grinding, carving etc.

The glass blowing demonstration will use a furnace transformed from an old water barrel by Dutch glass artist Ed van Dijk.

Artists and students working with glass will come together to share their experiences with glass.

Lectures and discussions will be followed by an exhibition of artworks from the international glass scene.

The public will be able to interact with international glass artists, schools and academies and find out about the many different glass techniques.

There will be workshops for both adults and children on 21 and 22 August, featuring glass fusing, glass beads, mosaic, glass recycling, clay and pâte de verre.

This year’s glass artist participants are:
BELGIUM – Alfred Collard, Daniel Olislagers, Patrick Van Tilborgh
BULGARIA – Lachezar Dochev, Elizar Milev
CZECH REPUBLIC – Petr Stacho, Jirí Šuhájek, Vladimir Klein, Zuzana Kubelkova
ENGLAND – Julie Anne Denton, Michèle Oberdieck
ESTONIA – Kairi Orgusaar
FRANCE – Julie Gonce
GERMANY – Patrick Roth, Alexandra Geyermann, Elke Mank, Hermann Ritterswürden, Torsten Rötzsch, Samuel Weisenborn
HUNGARY – Amala Gyöngyvér Varga
ISRAEL – Louis Sakalovsky
JAPAN – Takeshi Ito
LATVIA – Zaiga Baiza Emeringer,  Baiba Dzenīte, Inita Ēmane, Agnese Gedule, Dainis Gudovskis, Ieva Birgele
LITHUANIA – Remigijus Kriukas, Paulius Rainys
LUXEMBOURG – Robert Emeringer, Linda da Costa
NEDERLAND – Ed Van Dijk, JanHein van Stiphout
POLAND – Aleksandra Kujawska
RUSSIA – Alexander Fokin, Taisiia Fokina, Igor Frolov, Andrey Molchanovskiy
SLOVAKIA – Andrej Németh

Students taking part are:
BULGARIA – Yana Sergeeva Ermakova, Alisa Stoilova, Kristin Emilova Vasileva
LATVIA – Santa Bekmane, Toms Cīrulis, Liene Knēta, Anastasia Pelna
LITHUANIA – Modestas Barštys

The event takes place at: Atelier d’Art du Verre, Heppchesgaass 2, L-9940 Asselborn, Luxembourg.

More information from: remering@pt.lu

Image: Activities and artworks from the 2019 event.

CGS raffle generates over £1,500

The winners of beautiful glass artworks have been drawn in the Contemporary Glass Society’s (CGS) latest fundraising raffle.

The raffle raised just over £1,500 which will help CGS fund some of the many exciting events scheduled for 2022 in our 25th anniversary year. Pam and Sue thank everyone who bought a ticket.

Special thank yous also go to the many glass artists who donated work as prizes. These are David Reekie, Peter Layton, Gillies Jones and Alan J Poole. A further eight prizes were donated from previous shows by Aneta Glowacka, Jacque Pavlosky, Linda Norris, David Frazer, Janet Wheeler, Dr Linda Smith, Myra Wishart and Paul Mellor, so thanks are extended to them too.

The prize winners are: Judy Menges (2 prizes); Mark Holford; Annette Sharkey; Anna Popkin; Stewart Hearn; Leigh Baildham; Bernadette Blair; Peter Fricker; Jane Mason; Rachel Craig and Isobel Brunsdon.

Image: Some of the prizes (left to right): ‘Thrower VI’ by David Reekie; detail of a signed sketch on a napkin by Dale Chihuly (16 x 15cm);  ‘Turquoise Glacier’ by Peter Layton.

Would you like a grant for training from QEST?

Detail of painted stained glass panel by Grace Ayson.

The latest application round for financial support from the Queen Elizabeth Scholarship Trust (QEST) is open now. If you need help to fund a course or expand your abilities in a new glass direction, why not tell QEST about your plans and see if they are willing to assist?

QEST awards scholarship and apprenticeship funding of up to £18,000 to talented and aspiring craftspeople working in a broad range of traditional and contemporary skills, including glass.

The current application round is open now until 16 August 2021.

Since it was founded in 1990, QEST has awarded over £5 million to 625 individuals working in over 130 different crafts. Many of these have been glass artists. Read about some of the previous glass artists who have benefitted from QEST funding in this recent Glass Network digital feature article.

Details on how to apply are provided on the QEST website: www.qest.org.uk.

Interested makers can also attend a Zoom ‘How To’ session to find out more about the application process and gain helpful tips on filling out the application forms. Glass artists can apply for either a scholarship or an apprenticeship. Sign up for ‘How To Apply For A QEST Scholarship’ on Wednesday 4 August, 4-5pm here. Or sign up for ‘ How To Apply For A QEST Apprenticeship’ on Tuesday 20 July, 4-5pm here.

If you aren’t ready to apply now, look out for the next application round, which will open in January 2022.

Image: Stained glass by Grace Ayson, one of several glass artists and conservators who received QEST funding in 2020.

New Zealand glass studio achieves carbon zero certification

Two years of hard work to make their glass practice as environment friendly as possible have paid off for glass artists Lynden Over and Christine Robb, who run Lava Glass in New Zealand. Their glassblowing studio has achieved carbon neutral certification and claims to be the first glassblowing studio in the world to have done so.

As many glass artists are aware, the act of turning sand into glass takes an incredible amount of heat. A furnace containing molten glass roars 24 hours a day, and a second furnace must be fired up to keep the molten glass moving. Reducing the environmental impact of a glass studio is, therefore, not an easy task.

However, the two artists were determined to do as much as they could.

“I wasn’t prepared to continue as a glass artist if I couldn’t do it in a sustainable way,” explains Lynden Over. “It has been a rewarding journey to convert the studio to carbon zero status and know that I am able to look after the planet while following my passion.”

In order to reduce their carbon footprint, and to sequester some of the carbon released in the making of their artworks, they converted their gas furnace to an electric one and used clean, green electricity to run it. They also changed over to electric cars.

For the carbon sequestration programme, they planted 100 hectares of pine trees and 25 hectares of New Zealand native trees. The native tree planting is part of an environmental benefit programme, which links pathways of native bush, creating wildlife corridors.

Waste reduction has also been a focus and in 2021 they have diverted 67% of Lava Glass waste away from landfill.

Because Lynden’s work is inspired by the rugged New Zealand landscapes, the couple felt it was important to be mindful of that environment.

Lava Glass’s carbon emissions are measured via independent auditing by Toitū Envirocare. This year, they had to offset 90.14 tonnes of CO2e (carbon dioxide equivalent).

The next task is to drastically reduce these carbon emissions. They have developed a Greenhouse Gas emissions management plan with Toitū Envirocare, and have set reduction targets for the coming years.

Lynden and Christine are going the extra mile for sustainability and see their internationally-recognised Toitū carbon zero certification as an effective way to reduce their environmental impact. They strive to be at the forefront of environmentally-aware art making at Lava Glass.

Lava Glass is based in Taupo, New Zealand. It comprises a glass art gallery, glassblowing studio, glass sculpture garden and café. It was founded in 2002 and, over the years, Lynden has created an original range of collectable glassware and many award-winning works.

Find out more on the website: https://lavaglass.nz

Image: Lynden Over and Christine Robb celebrate their carbon zero certification.

The story of a glass engraver: Sue Burne

Talented artist Sue Burne began her journey in glass engraving 20 years ago, with a simple kit. Here she explains how her talent has evolved and why she is still hooked on this technique today.  

Unexpected things can change your life! In 2001 my husband gave me a basic Proxxon glass engraving kit for my birthday and almost immediately I realised I had found ‘my thing’. I’ve always been involved in a variety of arts and crafts, but glass engraving really caught my imagination.

I began scratching on cheap bits of glass, but realised I wasn’t getting the effects I wanted. In fact, I was amused a while ago to spot a tiny engraving at a large second-hand emporium near Dorchester in Dorset. It looked very amateurish but quite pretty. Turning it upside down, I recognised my own signature and realised it must have been one of my very first pieces. It was only 50p, so I bought it to remind me of just how far my journey in glass engraving has taken me!

That early piece would have been done when I first started engraving, and definitely before I joined the Guild of Glass Engravers (GGE). In the early days I became frustrated because my work looked scratchy and was nothing like the beautiful pieces I saw online. I knew I needed to learn how to engrave properly and, by joining the Guild as a Lay Member, I was immediately in a community of like-minded people. The members of the South West Branch were welcoming and rapidly became good friends.

A detail of Sue Burne’s piece ‘Spirals’.

It was the 3D illusions of intaglio engraving that really intrigued me. I desperately wanted to learn how that was done. Through the GGE’s mentoring scheme, plus the constructive criticism and encouragement of others, I began to find my own style. Within a few years I had achieved Craft Membership of the Guild and later I was awarded an Associate Fellowship. For nearly 10 years I was on the GGE Council, and took my turn as the Chair for three years. I have also been a long-term Craft Member of the Somerset Guild of Craftsmen.

I joined the Contemporary Glass Society a few years ago to gain a broader insight into glass and to get to know more people who love glass in all its forms. Before lockdown, I enjoyed meeting up with other members.

This piece ‘Feathers’ was found in a charity shop with a damaged edge. Sue added the feathers to disguise all the damage. When it was posted online, the original was recognised as made by Ed Kachurik (a renowned maker working in Pennsylvania, USA), who has seen it and approves of it being given new life.

When members of the public ask me what I do, they often look a bit blank when I say I’m a glass engraver. I am asked if I make the glass, too, but this wouldn’t be practical for me. I tried a little bit of glass blowing once and the poor little bubble I created was a sorry thing! I’d need another lifetime to get good enough to make my own glass blanks. I really appreciate the skills of the glassblowers I commission to create pieces for me, especially when I need very specific coloured layered glass to fit my ideas. When I do engravings on unique pieces of glass, I always considerate it a collaboration.

Sue Burne at work engraving panels for the Sower window, Clapham Church, Bedford, which is shown in the main feature image. Photo by Mike Price.

The public often thinks engraving only means doing inscriptions on presentation awards. This can be a part of what some of us do, and I get asked to do lettering commissions because I can do calligraphy, but it is only a small fraction of what I produce.

‘Beauty is a flame’ combines calligraphy with delicate, engraved moth forms.

When I am stewarding at engraving exhibitions, it’s gratifying to see the look of wonder as visitors suddenly realise how dramatic or beautiful engraving can be.

This piece, ‘Scheherazade’, celebrates the Persian queen who is the storyteller in ‘One Thousand and One Nights’. Sue’s work is often inspired by fables and legends.

I would not normally buy a piece of studio glass to engrave, because that is complete as its maker designed it. Any engraving on a piece of glass should look as if it belongs there. The best pieces of engraved glass appear as if the engraving was always meant to be. However, I have rescued some damaged or scratched second-hand pieces and given them a new life.

I am fortunate to live in Somerset, where I have a lot of family history. I feel as if I belong here, both at home on the Somerset Levels (an area of fascinating wetlands) and by the sea on the west Somerset coast, where I have a holiday home. I spent my teens in Lyme Regis ,in Dorset, which I also loved, and which was quite a contrast to Portsmouth, where I was born, and London, where I was a student. I am a country girl at heart.

‘Ghosts of Summer’ shows Sue’s interpretation of nature.

Imagery on my work frequently reflects the natural world. I prefer to use fresh plant material as a reference, if possible, though this is not always available. I also use myths and legends in my work; Somerset is full of those. Glastonbury is not far away, and the famous Tor rises out of the autumnal mist in sight of my village. Visits to other countries have inspired some pieces I have engraved, too.

My work is usually very intricate, and I love doing complicated-looking patterns on my pieces. I weave imagery from stories around the glass or I create designs like mandalas and snowflakes that create intriguing reflections within pieces of optical crystal.

When using multiple images or motifs on a piece, they must form a cohesive whole. I aim to find ways to link them all. This is especially important when using photographic references. A finished piece should reflect me and my style and not be simply a copy of something. A lot of research can go into one of my legend pieces. I do a large storyboard full of imagery I find in books and on the Internet, and I also collect patterns and abstract design motifs. I do some life drawing if necessary and then use all I have collected to inspire my own finished piece. Thinking about, and planning, a piece can take a lot longer than engraving it.

Some of what I do is for commissions, and they can be fun when trying to blend the client’s ideas with my own thoughts. My favourite thing, though, is selling in galleries and exhibitions. It is very gratifying if someone likes a piece enough to buy it just as I have made it.

‘Rockpool’ began life as a badly scratched Dartington Pebble series bowl. Sue had to engrave all over it to cover the scratches. Then her daughter and son-in-law asked to have it as a wedding present.

My work is normally on display in Somerset at the Somerset Guild of Craftsmen Gallery in Wells, and the gallery at Yandles in Martock. From time to time, I am a guest exhibitor in various other galleries around the UK and have also exhibited at Johansfors in Sweden. My work is in private collections around the world, as well as the UK, plus there are larger installation pieces in some churches and public and domestic buildings.

See my work this month at the Fine Foundation Gallery at Durlston Country Park and Nature Reserve, Swanage, Dorset, where I am exhibiting with the GGE. The event is on from Monday 12 July to Sunday 25 July 2021, from 10.30am to 5pm daily.

Find out more about my work on my website: www.sueburne.com.

Main feature image: Sower window, Clapham Church, Bedford, by Sue Burne.

Belgium’s GlazenHuis highlights summer exhibitions

Three floors of contemporary glass artworks await visitors to Belgium’s GlazenHuis gallery and glass studio this summer.

The lower floor of the iconic, 30m high glass-towered building houses the work of the BKRK craftsmanship award nominees. The ground floor is dedicated to Shoerealism, an exhibition of fantastic glass shoe designs, by Japanese artist Simsa Cho. The top floor features The Residents – glass made by artists who have used the GlazenHuis facilities to create new work.

The glass cone at the GlazenHuis makes a bold centrepiece to the Summer Exhibition. Photo copyright: GlazenHuis.

BKRK award nominees

The BKRK award is an established competition that puts a different craft in the spotlight each time. The latest iteration focuses on glass and the GlazenHuis partnered with the organisers to support the 10 nominated artists. It provided them with expertise and practical help to realise their ideas in the glass workshop, with resident master glassblower, Gert Bullée, on hand to assist.

In the BKRK exhibition, glass craft, visual arts and product design meet. Room dividers, lighting fixtures, carafes, jewellery and paintings all vie for first place. Every visitor can vote for their favourite. The public votes, along with those of a professional jury, will decide the winner. For anyone who cannot visit in person, you can see the entries and vote via this link. The winner will be announced on 14 October 2021.

Shoerealism exhibition

The Shoerealism exhibition features many amazing shoes created by Japanese artist Simsa Cho, who is based in Amsterdam, and graduated from the Dutch Gerrit Rietveld Academy in 1989.

Over the course of his 30-year career, the shoe has become a recurring theme for Cho. GlazenHuis is the first museum to present a retrospective: more than 30 objects from private and museum collections, including three from the city of Lommel’s urban glass art collection, showcasing glass shoes.

To mark the exhibition, Cho has created a special limited edition of only 10 pieces of a new shoe design, which are for sale in the glass shop.

For those who cannot visit in person, watch this video, in which Cho tours the exhibition and explains the story behind his shoes. If you can visit, the Shoerealism exhibition is on until 10 October 2021.

The Residents exhibition

In normal times, the GlazenHuis organises annual residencies (AiR – Artists in Residence) for international glass artists to develop knowledge and use the studio facilities. In return, they donate one of their creations to Lommel’s urban glass art collection. However, this year, restrictions because of the pandemic meant GlazenHuis staff and local freelance glassblowers were able to take advantage of the residency period instead. See the work of these artists/designers on the top floor: Jente Ruts, Marcel Haccuria, Jeroen Maes, Eric Pipien, Ingrid Arts, Ivo Henkens, Ryoko Sato, An-Valerie Vandromme, and Eline Deboiserie.

This exhibition also runs until 10 October 2021. Please check the website for the latest rules for visitors, as you may have to book a space in advance via a telephone appointment.

The GlazenHuis is located at: Dorp 14b, 3920 Lommel, Belgium. Website: https://glazenhuis.be/en/

Main image: A close-up of a shoe from the Shoerealism exhibition, designed by Simsa Cho. Photo copyright: GlazenHuis.

Latest CGS member exhibitions

If you are a member of the Contemporary Glass Society (CGS), you can submit your work to our regular exhibitions. Most of these are showing online currently, showcasing glass art to an international audience.

These events are a great way to gain visibility for your glass art. Some CGS exhibitions also allow you to offer the piece for sale.

Old Work/New Perspective

On now is the online glass exhibition, ‘Old Work/New Perspective’, wherein glass artists and designers have the chance to rediscover and display older work. Each piece is at least two years old. Almost 50 CGS members are taking part in this show, which highlights the diversity of talent and skill across the glass community.

View the pieces and read about each artist’s vision for the artworks via this link. Some pieces are for sale. This exhibition runs until 21 July 2021.

Summer Sunshine

If you missed out on this opportunity, why not submit an entry for the next exhibition? This will be a selected show on the theme ‘Summer Sunshine’. Let your imagination flow and create an artwork that celebrates the joy and vibrancy of the season. The submission window is open now (log in via your Member page on the website). The deadline is 12 July.

Summer Sunshine will be live on the CGS website from 26 July until 25 August 2021. Some of the successful artists will be online to introduce their work to other CGS members on Saturday 31 July. The log-in details will be emailed to members via the newsletter.

Animal Magic

If you can’t submit to Summer Sunshine, make a note of the following CGS online exhibition, ‘Animal Magic’, which will be open to all members and not a selected show. All creatures great and small will be welcome for this exhibition – including birds.

The deadline for ‘Animal Magic is 16 August 2021. Entries can be uploaded from 14 July until the closing date. The exhibition will be live online from 1 September until 10 October 2021.

Again, there will be the opportunity to meet the artists behind the artworks on Saturday 4 September 2021.

CGS turns 25 in 2022

The CGS celebrates its Silver Jubilee in 2022. There will be many events throughout the year as we mark 25 years of supporting studio glass makers. To kick things off, in January 2022 we are working with the National Glass Centre in Sunderland. For this exhibition, we will be looking for up to 20 CGS members to show all the amazing methods used by glass artists. The title is ‘It’s all in the Technique’. Look out for more details in due course.

If you are not yet a member, why not join today and become a part of our friendly glass community?

One thing is certain – 2022 will be a bumper year for glass and the CGS!

Image: ‘Jumping for Joy’ by Dominic Fonde. Currently showing in ‘Old Work/New Perspective’ exhibition. Photo: Yasutaka Akane.

Contemporary glass artists feature at AppArt in Surrey

After it was postponed in 2020, the popular AppArt art exhibition and sculpture trail is back on track in 2021 and takes place from 10-25 July in Godalming, Surrey.

This annual event has built a solid following of interior designers and art enthusiasts over the years. It comprises an indoor display of artworks, sculptures and paintings in a variety of media and styles, with an outdoor sculpture trail laid out throughout the Gertrude Jekyll-inspired gardens.

Among the nearly 300 artists taking part are several glass artists, whose work covers a variety of skills, including blown glass, fused glass, stained glass and mixed media. Glass art will feature both indoors and outdoors and there will be some impressive work from Adam Aaronson, Linda Banks, Juliet Derwent, Sami El-Dahshan, Julie Noles and Joe Szabo.

AppArt is held at Prior’s Field School, which itself is worth visiting for its Arts and Crafts Movement architecture. The school provides a fitting backdrop to all the artworks, having been designed by the revered architect, Charles Francis Annesley Voysey. The building was completed in 1900 and the gardens he laid out were planted in a sympathetic, Gertrude Jeykell style by the owners, Julia and Leonard Huxley. Julia opened the building as a Prior’s Field School in 1902.

In all, there are 750 artworks to see. Organiser and curator, Evelyn Phillips, is a respected and established interior designer and her trained eye ensures all the artworks selected are of the best quality, with something to suit every taste and interior space.

The AppArt Exhibition and Sculpture trail is open every day from 10am to 4pm from Saturday 10 July to Sunday 25 July, at Prior’s Field School, Priorsfield Road, Godalming, Surrey GU7 2RH. Admission is free. It is advisable to book free tickets for the Opening Day. They can be obtained via Eventbrite here.

Numbers will be restricted in the indoor exhibition. Masks will need to be worn and social distancing maintained. There will be no restrictions outside, but visitors are requested to maintain social distancing.

Further information can be found at: https://www.appartonline.co.uk

Image: Stepping stones by Sami El-Dahshan.

London Glassblowing Summer Show on now

Glass master and founder of London Glassblowing, Peter Layton celebrated his 84th birthday in June 2021 and marks the occasion with the opening of The London Glassblowing Summer Show.

The exhibition runs until 17 July 2021 and features an illuminating and eclectic array of works by artists that the gallery has represented over the past decade.

There is new work from Amanda Simmons, Colin Reid, Jan-Joop Ruisch, Lola Lazaro Hinks and Peter Layton himself. Their work will be shown alongside pieces by Sue Tinkler, Cathryn Shilling, Bruno Romanelli, David Reekie, Tim Rawlinson, Alison Lowry, Bruce Marks, Elliot Walker, Enemark & Thompson, Hanne Enemark, Jochen Ott, Joseph Harrington, Karen Browning, Laura McKinley, Layne Rowe, Lola Lazaro Hinks, Louis Thompson, Sophie Thomas, Morag Reekie, Morten Klitgaard, Nick Mount, Nina Casson McGarva, Olga Alianova, and Sarah Wiberley.

In addition, the gallery has exclusive limited editions of ‘Threads’ by Netflix’s ‘Blown Away 2’ winner, Elliot Walker. Earlier in the year Elliot was set a challenge at the gallery to create a sculpture in response to the hard work of the NHS during the pandemic (watch it here). He created a very large, intricate spool and limited editions are available at London Glassblowing in three colours.

Visitors can view all the works in person at London Glassblowing on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, from 10am to 5pm. There is free parking and there are lots of places to eat nearby.

Alternatively, why not explore the exhibition virtually via the website here?

London Glassblowing is located at 62-66 Bermondsey Street, London, SE1 3UD.

Image: Wedge, by Peter Layton.