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Interview: stained glass artist Debora Coombs

Debora Coombs is an accomplished stained glass artist with a love of geometric patterns that has led her to push the boundaries of her practice to make 3D creations based on scientific tiling. Linda Banks finds out more.

 

You have long experience with stained glass and an interest in geometric design. What set you on this path?

My fascination with light and geometry began as a very small child. I’d spend hours watching patterns of sparkling light cast from a streetlamp onto my bedroom window. The streetlamp always stayed at the centre of circles of straw-like scratches of light, even when I moved my head. This seemed mysterious. Now I know that light patterns, like ripples on a pond, are visual expressions of nature’s hidden energy. The sparkles I loved were caused by shifting my point of view and altering the relationship between indoor and outdoor objects and textures. Curiosity about the relationship between viewer and viewed has stayed with me, fuelling my work in glass and geometry. I use glass painting to manage the relationship between transparency and opacity and have developed techniques that allow me to do this without losing the sparkle of mouth-blown glass – a dance I find endlessly fascinating.

Geometry also has deep roots and plays a key role in my work. It started in the early 1980s when I was at the Royal College of Art working on a Master’s degree in the Ceramics and Glass department. A geometric pattern with unusual symmetry was discovered by British mathematician Roger Penrose. It grabbed my attention. I made drawings based on Penrose tiling by hand and with a plotter (a primitive type of computer printer), then painted and fired them onto glass. Then, 30 years later, I met computer scientist Duane Bailey and we built sculptural versions of Penrose tiling [see YouTube video via this link]. I learned more about the underlying mathematics, and that Penrose tiling is related to the atomic structure of quasicrystals, a type of matter that occurs naturally in meteorites. Enthusiastically I returned to the work I’d begun as a student.

‘Cloaking Device III: Mirrored Quasicrystal’ (2023) was photographed in the snow by the artist. It is made from silvered glass, copper foil, solder and rubber and measures 70cm x 63cm x 7.5cm.

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

I’ve been working on the same geometric project for so long now that each day in the studio is a continuation rather than a beginning. My ‘next steps’ sometimes come in dreams, scribbled down in the morning as little diagrams and notes. Ideas also come from noticing new shapes or patterns in my existing work, sometimes almost by accident, and deciding to investigate them.

With stained glass commissions, which can feel daunting at first, I use geometry to get myself grounded, setting about with compass and straightedge to find relationships between width and height of window openings, the underlying structure of any curves or tracery, and to decide where to break the window into separate panels and place support bars. This, my first step in designing a window, is both a ritual and a practicality. It calms my mind and allows me time to consider structure before having to think about detail. It creates a solid visual and physical foundation for building a new piece of work. Ideas about colour, transparency, imagery, materials and technique flow much more easily as I begin sketching over photocopies of the geometry.

Drawings and designs with geometry for stained glass at Carroll College, Helena, Montana, US (2017). Photo courtesy of the artist.

What message do you want to convey in your work?

Although my work is sometimes narrative, I’m not attached to the idea of promoting my own stories or guiding the viewer’s interpretation. When my work resonates with someone, it’s often in ways I hadn’t imagined and I really enjoy this. We are all so different, and yet we can connect, sometimes in surprising ways. The fact that we are conscious of this and can talk about it is extraordinary. This is my message, perhaps – that Nature is remarkable.

Ancient Winchester silverstain printed by hand onto mouth-blown glass for a stained glass project at Carroll College, Helena, Montana, US, (work in progress) (2017). Photo courtesy of the artist.

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

I’ve begun to think of my mind as an extraordinarily high-tech piece of equipment. Used skilfully and for the right purposes, it is a remarkable tool. As I’ve grown older, I’ve learned to use my mind more creatively, not letting my brain run amok or settle into autopilot.

Besides this, my Hoaf Speedburn glass-firing kiln is my favorite piece of equipment. It is propane-fuelled, computer-controlled, anneals safely and quickly, and I love the sound of its burners clicking on and off over the gentle hissing of the pilot light.

Do you have a favourite piece you have made?

Like a child, my favourite piece is often what I’m working on when someone asks. ‘Mirrored Quasicrystal’ is a sculpture of Penrose tiling made from hundreds of identical glass diamond shapes copper-foiled, soldered together and reverse-coated with rubber to fix the mirror’s corrosion. I think of it as a hunk of meteorite, billions of years old, with fascinating geometry. As Mirrored Quasicrystal rotates [see YouTube video here], it casts shifting patterns of light in sheets that move simultaneously in different directions. Another favourite, ‘Baroque Quasicrystal’ [main feature image], is made from transparent glass painted with a coded version of the pattern’s mathematical assembly rules. It casts an image of the original, two-dimensional Penrose tiling.

Where do you show and sell your work?

I do stained glass commissions and teach twice a year at my studio in Vermont, US, and elsewhere. This allows me to continue making art that may not be of interest to anyone else. This income enables me to travel to retreats and artists’ residencies and to continue making non-commissioned work.

View through baptistery screen to nave windows at St Mary’s Cathedral, Portland, Oregon, US (1993-96). Traditional hand-painted stained glass; sandblasted and French-embossed float glass. Photo: John Hughel.

You are also an educator. What advice do you give to those starting out on a career in glass today?

Put a roof over your head first, pay your bills, then play freely. Indulge yourself. Make whatever interests you. Be curious. Learn new techniques. Seek out peaceful, uninterrupted time to make work, either in your studio or away from home. Show your work to others but don’t take their opinions to heart.

‘Perovskite’ (detail) (2018) is made from mirror glass, copper foil, solder and finished with carnauba wax. It measures 38cm x 50cm. Photo: Jack Criddle.

You have collaborated with other artists. What are the benefits and challenges of such projects?

Collaborations expand my practice in various ways, including technically, and bring new energy to my studio. Sometimes, as happened when I met Duane Bailey, they’ve shifted the direction of my work in a big way.

I began making three-dimensional stained glass with rough sculptural surfaces after building this steel and glass plank [see image below] with artist Jason Middlebrook. This post shows how we cut and welded a steel armature, wrapped it with copper foil, and used solder as a modelling material.

This steel and glass plank was created in collaboration with artist Jason Middlebrook. Photo courtesy of the artist.

Another collaboration, with artist Darren Waterston for his installation ‘Filthy Lucre’, got me interested in building three-dimensional geometric work in glass and brass. Darren came with a clear vision of painting that would look old and decayed. My painting techniques are easy to master and, with a little instruction, Darren painted the glass himself. We later built another 38 lamps as a fundraiser for the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art (MASS MoCA), where his work was exhibited. Since then, I’ve hosted artists working in blown glass, fused/slumped glass and ceramics and they’ve learned how to use my techniques in their own work.

A stained glass collaboration I especially enjoyed was translating a collage by Michael Oatman into this window for his space satellite in ‘All Utopias Fell’, also exhibited at MASS MoCA. Much of my enthusiasm came from not knowing how it could be done and yet somehow believing it must be possible. In the end, I got a marvellous sense of achievement from gradually figuring it out.

Do you have a career highlight?

A clear winner for ‘career highlight’ was writing and illustrating an academic paper about my geometric work. It’s very short, and probably would’ve taken a researcher just a couple of weeks, but I was starting at the bottom, learning how to describe my work accurately with words, and it took me 20 months. It describes how I discovered new fractals and methods for assembling quasicrystalline patterns in two- and three-dimensions. I was thrilled when my paper survived several rounds of peer-review and was published by Bridges Art & Mathematics in their 2021 Conference Proceedings.

Where is your practice heading next?

My long-term goal is to figure out how to build large fields of quasicrystals as simply as possible. I want to make extended sheets from individual units that snap together with magnets and connect with their neighbours in a way that continues naturally. I am currently writing another academic paper about these magnetic geometric shapes and the overall pattern of electromagnetism they create.

Alongside this, I’m working on a stained glass commission that shows the dawn sun rising over the horizon in a New England seascape. The design is partly geometric and partly naturalistic, with hand-painted native plants and flowers. The window will be traditional in many ways, but 21st century too, with images taken by the James Webb Space Telescope carved into thin layers of coloured frit in the receding night sky.

And finally…

Debora Coombs working in her studio on the design for stained glass for Carroll College, Helena, Montana, US (2017). Photo courtesy of the artist.

Thank you for this opportunity to share my story with the CGS community. I’m happy to have spent my life as a maker. I love glass, paint, colour, hand tools and technology. Making art from real materials helps me see and feel Nature in a tangible way, and craftsmanship seems especially worthwhile in an age of plastics and technology. I marvel at computing and mechanisation and use them in my work. I also love making things old-style, working with my hands.

Find out more about Debora Coombs via her website: https://www.coombscriddle.com

Main feature image: ‘Baroque Quasicrystal’ (2015) comprises hand-painted antique glass, copper foil and solder. It measures 56cm x 65cm x 9cm. Photo: John Polak.

Register for Making Futures conference

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The 2024 Making Futures conference, on the theme ‘Beyond Objects, Materiality at the Edge of Making’, takes place at Arts University Plymouth in October 2024.

The event will explore craft encounters with current material innovations where artists, artisans, designers and others work across disciplines and communities toward a more equitable, sustainable and resilient world.

The conference will examine how these encounters begin to alter both the formal and conceptual expectations of craft, opening traditional techniques to the behavioural, biological and environmental dimensions of physical matter beyond object-making, to take a more holistic view of how materiality shapes and influences human experience.

The organisers state, “As with all forms of creative practice, the boundary of what is considered ‘craft’ is fugitive – adapting and transforming as we look with urgency at how the deep, historical knowledge and artisan traditions associated with craft might provide contemporary society with an alternative to our current habits of consumption and enable us to live more respectfully with each other, the natural world and our planet.”

Keynote speakers include Sherry Lassiter, President and CEO of The Fab Foundation, and Elissa Brunato, CEO and Founder of Radiant Matter.

The conference takes place from 17-19 October 2024 from 9:30am-5pm daily at Arts University Plymouth, Tavistock Place, Plymouth, PL4 8AT.

Making Futures is Arts University Plymouth’s research platform exploring contemporary craft and maker movements as ‘change agents’ in 21st-century society. It was first convened in 2009.

Find out more and book via this link. Please note that the conference schedule is subject to change while the programme is finalised.

ICON stained glass group conference and AGM

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The Institute of Conservation (ICON) Stained Glass Group conference and AGM takes place on 26 October 2024 in Chester, UK.

Titled ‘Beyond the Whall – The Challenges of Conserving Glass from the Arts and Crafts Movement to the 21st Century’, the event will feature six professional speakers, a walking tour of Chester, plus dinner and quiz evening.

Christopher Whall (1849-1924) was a leading British stained glass artist in the Arts and Crafts movement. The conference will investigate the stained glass work of his pupils and later 20th Century stained glass artists. It will cover the innovations, pitfalls and solutions to problematic conservation issues relating to some of Britain’s finest stained glass.

Early bird ticket prices are available until 26 September 2024. In addition, there are five free tickets available for early years practitioners and students. To apply for a free ticket, please email a 250-word statement telling a little bit about yourself and how you would benefit from attending this conference to iconstainedglass@gmail.com by 16 September. Winners will be notified by 20 September.

Additionally, attendees can enjoy a secondary event at Chester Cathedral from 1pm on the day before the conference, 25 October 2024: a symposium celebrating the works of stained glass artist, Trena Cox (1895-1980). Entry is by donation. This takes place alongside the exhibition ‘Trena Cox: Reflections 100’ (7 October-8 November 2024). The show is an exploration through exhibition and art of the legacy of one of Chester’s unsung heroines.

‘Beyond the Whall’ takes place on 26 October 2024 from 9.30am-6pm at the Wheeler Building, University of Chester, Castle Drive, Chester, CH1 1SL.

Find out more about the conference and AGM, including the full programme, and book via this link.

Image: Detail of stained glass window by Trena Cox.

Like a moth to a flame

US glass artist Dan Hoffman specialises in flameworking tiny borosilicate glass molecules and complex geometric structures, some of which are smaller than a human fingernail. His passion ignited when he started using glass as a medium to help him grasp the complex topics he was learning his Bachelor of Science (BS) chemistry classes and today he combines these two passions in his artwork. Linda Banks finds out more.

You have a scientific background and have brought this into your intricate, flameworked glass pieces. What led you to start working with glass?

I started working with glass shortly after starting to study chemistry at the University of California, Santa Cruz, US.  Growing up in Southern California, I was exposed to a lot of highly functional, scientific-style waterpipes, and I was curious about the processes of how such intricate apparatus were made.

When I moved to Santa Cruz, I asked around town for local glassblowing classes and was introduced to Nathan Bennett (Instagram: @santacruzglasspics) and his beginner flameworking classes. At the time, he was teaching through the Santa Cruz adult education programme and would bring in 10 small torches to the local high school jewellery-making room each week. I rapidly fell in love with everything about working with glass, taking Nathan’s class several times in a row, apprenticing under him and eventually buying my own equipment and renting space in his studio.

My passion for glass and chemistry developed hand in hand, and my body of work naturally began to have a scientific focus. After getting my BS in Chemistry, I realised that glass was my true passion. I attended Salem Community College to take the Scientific Glass Technology and Glass Art programmes.

This close-up shows Dan’s micro station where he is creating the Oxytocin molecule. Photo: Dan Hoffman.

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

While attending Salem Community College, I was introduced to a wide variety of techniques, including hot shop, coldworking, kiln fusing and more. However, my first true love of flameworking with borosilicate glass has remained my preferred method of working with glass.

‘Medicine Ball #3’ is just 2.5cm × 2.5cm and was made in 2022 from flameworked borosilicate glass. Photo: Darren Miller.

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

Most of my work is meticulously planned in advance – and sometimes even drawn out to scale before I even touch a piece of glass. All of the geometric structures and molecules require a lot of prep work and, without making blueprints before starting, a lot of this style of work would be nearly impossible. On my more intricate, functional pieces, I frequently use detailed sketches to create the main vessel for a piece, but allow myself to flow and to listen to the piece to make decisions about how to decorate it with colours, patterns and external attachments. Rarely do I jump truly blindly into making a piece.

This flameworked borosilicate glass ‘Cannabinoid Skull’ (36cm × 25cm) was a 2023 collaboration between Mr Gray Glass and Dan Hoffman. Photo: Boro Vision.

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

I hope to convey an appreciation of, and a curiosity for, science through my art.  I have found that chemistry is a rather polarising field: many people had a less-than-ideal experience with it in school and now look down upon or dismiss the topic as ‘too hard’.  With my work, I try to show that many of the concepts of chemistry can be beautiful and intuitive, rather than intimidating. I also aim to provide education and awareness around psychedelic and psychoactive compounds, and dispel some of the misconceptions that these powerful molecules have in the public eye.

This flameworked borosilicate glass ‘Micro LSD Goblet’ measures around 4cm × 1.5cm. It was a demonstration piece made at Glass Vegas 2023. Photo: Boro Vision.

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

My favourite tool is my extra micro octagonal reamer. It was made by Firebug Jay, an American toolmaker, and is a typical graphite octagonal reamer mounted on a wooden handle – except that the whole thing is barely a few centimetres long! The handle is about 2mm in diameter and was made to be a novelty item, but I use it a lot for flaring open tiny tubes. I also have a tiny, but not quite so small, paddle that Firebug Jay made for me that I use almost every day.

This flameworked borosilicate glass ‘Micro Oxytocin Molecule’ glowing under blacklight (measures about 3.5cm × 2cm) was created in 2019. Photo: Jeff DiMarco.

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

My favourite piece, among many, would have to be a DNA molecule plasma lamp I made in 2017.  It was a collaboration with plasma artist Bruce Suba. I created an accurate strand of DNA – the most complex micro molecule I’ve ever created – and sealed it inside a 30mm diameter tube. The structure took days of planning and several weeks to prepare all the tiny atoms, and I was very pleasantly surprised with how it came together. Suba then helped me fill the tube with a cocktail of noble gases, and we built an inductively coupled transformer base, so the tube glows an ethereal blue with a cloud of gas clinging to the structure. As it had a few very small technical flaws, I ended up keeping the piece and it has lived on my bedside table ever since.

Where do you show and sell your work?

I mostly share and sell work directly through my Instagram page and website. I also frequently set up displays and vend at music festivals and psychedelic events around the US. I work with a variety of stores and galleries as well.

DNA molecule inside functional vessel, measuring around 10cm × 4.5cm (2019), made using flameworked borosilicate glass. Photo: Jeff DiMarco.

Do you have a career highlight?

My career highlight was probably being a featured artist for a glassblowing demonstration organised by Roor for the Cultiva Hemp Expo in Austria in 2019.  Roor is a waterpipe company based in Germany and made some of the first glass pieces that sparked my curiosity in glassblowing back in 2011!  The owner and founder, Martin Birzle is responsible for many innovations in the functional glass world. After seeing a molecule pendant I had made and shipped overseas, he approached me about collaborating.

During a short visit to the factory in Germany in early 2019, he invited me back with my original mentor Nathan Bennett and another Santa Cruz artist (and now shop mate), Cameron Burns. The three of us travelled to Germany, where we were hosted by Roor and collaborated on a series of pieces, then we went to Austria, where we spent three days blowing glass in a beautiful venue.  We made several very intricate pieces and the whole experience was incredibly surreal. After the demonstration, we all travelled around Europe independently. On those travels, I visited Venice and made a goblet with the Ballarin brothers on Murano island and visited some breathtaking scenery in the Austrian Alps. That entire trip is certainly the highlight (so far!) of my glass career.

‘Recursive Lattice’ (2023) measures 3.7cm × 3.7cm and uses flameworked borosilicate glass. Photo: Dan Hoffman.

Where is your glass practice heading next?

The future of my glass practice is uncertain but exciting. On the torch, I aim to continue to refine my techniques and make even more intricate work as cleanly as possible. As I get more comfortable with some of the riskier assembly techniques I use in my functional work, like incorporating spinning components, I am able to add more details and pour more time into the patterns on these parts. I also hope to continue trying new techniques at every scale, as well as pushing more of my full-size skills into the micro size. On the flipside, I am planning to do a series of much larger, geometric pieces that could be displayed more prominently than the micro versions.

Off the torch, I hope to build a studio of my own soon, instead of working out of a shared space. I also am excited to teach more workshops and classes, and continue to travel the world, meeting other glass enthusiasts in every part of the globe.

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

I would recommend trying as many techniques and styles as possible! I see a lot of novice glassblowers, especially in the pipe-making scene, who get caught up with deciding what their signature style should be instead of just exploring the medium. It is true that defining and mastering a specific technique or niche can lead to a more dedicated collector base and sales, but I think it is crucial to allow that to develop naturally. Plus, even once it develops, it’s important to give yourself some creative wiggle room and not get too locked into making one specific thing, to avoid creative burnout.

Dan Hoffman working on micro molecules at The Highland Flames 2024. Photo: Amy Short.

And finally…

It has been absolutely fascinating to me, in developing my body of tiny, intricate work, to see how much this medium can scale down! Almost every fundamental principle and technique to flameworking applies to a 1mm sphere just as much as a 1-inch sphere.  As long as everything – tools, flame, prep, timing, etc – is scaled down, too, I really don’t see a physical minimum for how small the glass can go!

Find out more about Dan Hoffman and his work via his website or Instagram: @danhoffmanglass.

Main feature image: Micro-scale flameworked borosilicate glass Oxytocin molecule. Photo: Jeff DiMarco.

UK Graduate Glass Prize winners announced

Two first prize winners have been announced for the Worshipful Company of Glass Sellers’ (WCGS) and Contemporary Glass Society’s (CGS) annual Graduate Glass Prize.

The Prize supports emerging graduates from British and Irish universities and colleges at the beginning of their careers in glass making, providing financial rewards, memberships, books, subscriptions and publicity in the New Graduate Review publication, which is circulated widely and will be distributed to CGS members with the next edition of Glass Network print magazine.

This year’s joint winners are Helen Restorick from University for the Creative Arts, Farnham, Surrey, who has completed an MA, and Lu Shi, who graduates with a BA Fashion Design in Knitwear from Central Saint Martin’s School of Art, University of The Arts, London. Read more about Lu Shi’s glass dress development in this article by Morley College, where she completed a BTEC Certificate in Art and Design in Glass in tandem with her BA studies.

Runners up are Bethan Yates, studying an MA at the Royal College of Art, London, and Sue Simmons, graduating with a BA from the University of Sunderland.

Other prize winners are:

Highly Commended – Charis Constantinou (Swansea Collect of Art UWTSD)
Highly Commended – Nancy Farrington (Swansea Collect of Art UWTSD)
Highly Commended – Brynn Hill (University of Sunderland)
Highly Commended – Sophie Longwill (Royal College of Art, London)

Commended – Matt Turner (Manchester School of Art)
Commended – Liz Waugh McManus (University of Sunderland)
Commended – Evan McKenna (National College of Art and Design)
Commended – Maria Donnai (Hull College)
Commended – Kieran McQuillan (University for the Creative Arts, Farnham)
Commended – Kathleen James (University of Sunderland)
Commended – Joanne O’Mahony (MTU Crawford College of Art and Design, Cork, Ireland)
Commended – Shonah Escombe (Forth Valley College)
Commended – Jo Guile (Royal College of Art, London).

The entries from all these graduates will be included in New Graduate Review.

CGS received a total of 35 applications from 16 colleges/universities.

The selection panel comprised Monette Larsen (artist), Professor Michael Barnes (glass collector/CGS Trustee), Sarah L Brown (glass artist/CGS Trustee) and Leigh Baildham from the WCGS Charity Fund.

Leigh Baildham commented, “During a challenging time in higher education with an ever-dwindling number of courses related to glass, it is a delight to see the continuing strong set of entries this year. The inspiration and imagination shown demonstrated the thought that had been applied to all work submitted. As ever, the task for the judges was made harder by the wide diversity of style and design of the glass work. In an unprecedented decision, it was resolved that two First Prizes would be awarded this year. The reason behind this decision was that the judges wanted to recognise two very different kinds of work, using glass embracing the fashion world, along with the more traditional form of studio glass. So much promise for the future!”

CGS is grateful to receive funding and support to offer this prize from the WCGS of London Charity Fund, Professor Michael Barnes MC FRCP, Creative Glass, Pearsons Glass, Warm Glass, Neues Glas and Alan J Poole.

Image: Winning entries made by the two first prize recipients, Helen Restorick (left) and Lu Shi.

GAS appoints new board members

Twelve new board members have been elected to the Glass Art Society (GAS), including two names well known in the UK contemporary glass scene – Janine Christley and James Devereux.

Janine Christley worked for Ruskin Mill Trust for over 30 years and is also the Founder and Director of the International Festival of Glass – the major event for contemporary glass in the UK. In October 2024 this event will be taken over by GAS and Christley is joining the board to ensure a smooth and successful handover and a continued positive relationship with British glass artists and organisations.

James Devereux has been working in glass since the age of 15, when he discovered a natural talent for the craft. Specialising in hot glass, his skills cover solid forms as well as blown pieces. In 2008, he opened his first studio in Wiltshire, becoming the glass technician at the Royal College of Art in London a year later. In 2013 he established Devereux and Huskie Glassworks, with fellow glass artist Katherine Huskie.

Other new GAS board members, starting their roles on 1 October 2024, are Zach Abella, Phillip Murray Bandura, Lothar Böttcher, Michelle Bufano, Kate Dowd, Annabelle Javier, Dr Kayla Natividad, Natali Rodrigues, Julia Rogers and Danielle Ruttenberg.

Speaking about the appointments, GAS Executive Director Brandi P Clark stated, “We are in the midst of a transformative period at GAS as we expand internationally, and we are thrilled to be adding 12 new members to our Board of Directors. These talented individuals have a broad range of skills as seasoned professionals, administrators and artists whose expertise ranges from sustainability to fundraising and everything in between. We are confident these new board members will work with our current board and staff to make GAS the best organisation it can be.”

Obituary: John Lawrie (1928-2024)

John Lawrie, a distinguished figure in the world of glass art, passed away on 6 August 2024 at the age of 95. Born in Edinburgh in 1928, John dedicated his life to the craft of glassmaking, leaving an indelible mark on the field and inspiring many generations of glass artists through his educational and artistic work.

John’s artistic journey began in 1951 when he enrolled at the Edinburgh College of Art (ECA). There, he studied glass design, mural painting and life drawing – disciplines that would shape his future career.

After graduating, John was fortunate to work closely with the renowned glass artist and educator Helen Monro Turner at the Juniper Green Workshop, which they set up together in 1956. John installed a range of cutting-edge glass equipment in the workshops, including glass-cutting lathes, electric glass casting kilns and an air compression and dust extraction system for a sandblasting cabinet that could handle large-scale sheet glass for architectural glass commissions. John worked alongside Helen on several of her most significant public commissions, including the windows at the National Library of Scotland. The Juniper Green Workshop provided a creative space for graduates from ECA and the workshop became a foundation stone of John’s expertise in glass making.

John also worked on numerous independent commissions across Scotland, including a large-scale set of triangular chapel windows for the Loretto School, Edinburgh made from dalle de verre (a type of slab glass set into a concrete and epoxy matrix), a technique he used widely in his architectural glass. He also worked on the creation of a replica of the St John’s cross, which was cast in concrete, for Iona Abbey. His work in glass and concrete was renowned and included a concrete-and-glass fountain installed at the Nivensknowe Welfare Club, in Bilston, Edinburgh, alongside a series of Modernist engraved glass panels that he worked on with Helen at the same site.

In 1961, John began teaching part-time at the School of Occupational Therapy at Astley Ainslie Hospital in Edinburgh, where he shared his knowledge and passion for glass art with a broader audience. By 1966, he returned to ECA as a teacher in the mural and glass departments, eventually rising to become Head of the Glass Department in 1970 when Monro Turner retired.

As Head of Department, John was instrumental in developing the glass design programme, championing both blown glass and kiln-working techniques. He played a crucial role in designing the new glass department within the Hunter Building, part of the extensions of the Edinburgh College of Art in 1976-1977. He created a custom-designed glassblowing studio, further solidifying ECA’s reputation as a leader in glass education.

John’s tenure at ECA lasted until his retirement in 1989, but his influence continued, as he maintained his studio in Edinburgh, producing glass pieces that are now held in public collections across Britain.

John Lawrie’s legacy is one of dedication, innovation and excellence in the field of glass art. His contributions to ECA and the wider artistic glass community will be remembered and celebrated for many years to come.

Written by Jessamy Kelly, Senior Lecturer in Glass, Edinburgh College of Art.

Image: John Lawrie (with cane) alongside staff from the ECA Glass programme (image taken in 2016).

Join BSMGP for discussion day on connection and collaboration

Both members and non-members of the British Society of Master Glass Painters’ (BSMGP) are invited to the organisation’s annual Discussion Day. The event takes place in London on 13 September 2024 and is titled, ‘Stained Glass – Connection and Collaboration’.

Organised by the new Artists Working Group, the BSMGP say the meeting is intended to empower artistic expression and foster future collaborations by inspiring practitioners to creatively connect and strengthen their professional relationships. There will be two artist’s talks, a panel discussion, a ‘show and tell’ session and time for networking.

Guest speakers Amber Hiscott and Bethany Wood will present in the morning. They will discuss collaborative projects they have undertaken and how the connection aided in their success.

Amber Hiscott works internationally as an innovative architectural glass artist from her studio in Wales. Her large-scale commissions are in many public settings. Bethany Wood is the founder of Blowfish Glass Gallery in Stourbridge, West Midlands. She produces her own range of glassware, as well as running workshops to share her passion for glass blowing. The morning will finish with a panel discussion and Q&As.

The afternoon will provide a ‘show and tell’ opportunity for participants to share a project or piece of work. It will include an informal and friendly networking session.

The day will be held near London Bridge at the Glaziers Hall of the Worshipful Company of Glaziers and Painters of Glass, 9 Montague Close, London SE1 9DD. It runs from 10.30am-4.30pm. Tea and coffee are provided, but not lunch.

Tickets are £37.40 for members and £44 for non-members.

Find out more and book here.

Glorious glass textiles

Contemporary glass artist and designer Ulrike Umlauf-Orrom has taken glass fusing to a new level, inventing her own processes to create the effect of fabric, inspired by her love of Japanese art and craft. Linda Banks finds out more.

You are known for your accomplished fused glass pieces. What led you to start working with glass?

After an apprenticeship in ceramics and an industrial design degree at Munich University, I was awarded a postgraduate scholarship at the Royal College of Art in London, Faculty of Ceramics and Glass, in 1980. As a design student in ceramics, I began to cast comparative vessel variations in different ceramic materials, from clay to bone china. I was very frustrated not to be able to achieve translucent bone china vessels because of technical problems. My tutor’s comment, “Why don’t you try it in glass?” was a revelation!

I was given a warm welcome in the glass department and, in my final year, I worked in both departments. My degree show consisted of ceramic and glass objects, which was very unusual at the time.

However, I was so enthusiastic about glass as a material, with the new processing techniques I had learned, that I never worked with ceramics as a maker again – only as designer.

An early piece from 1989, ‘Vessel’ was blown by Neil Wilkin.

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

I have never mastered glassblowing with satisfactory results, so my vessels were blown for me (in college by Fred Daden, the college master glassblower, later by Neil Wilkin in Bath). I am adept at cold working, such as grinding, polishing, engraving and various sandblasting techniques. I later learned sandcasting on a course at Pilchuck Glass School with the Swedish designer and artist Bertil Vallien, which I really liked.

Applying this technique on my return to Germany was not easy; sandcasting was largely unknown. I had to try out the glass studios I knew to find out whether sandcasting worked with their glass, equipment and annealing possibilities. This meant hiring the studios and a casting assistant for at least three days per session. I was on the road in Bavaria with my sand and the plaster models I needed for the casts, which proved expensive and time-consuming. At some point, as a mother of two young children, I decided I couldn’t, and didn’t want to, do this any more.

That was how I got into fusing. I searched for, and found, a technique that would allow me to work with maximum autonomy and exploration in my own workshop at home.

I took a fusing course at Creative Glass in Zurich and then stocked up on all the materials and tools I needed. I learned how to use a glass cutter, ordered a kiln and a grinding wheel and got started straight away.

Fusing has now been my continuous technique for over 25 years, and I am still full of enthusiasm. The most important thing for me is that I can carry out all the steps of the work myself and divide up the different phases. Working with glass panes as a starting product does not require the same continuous dedication as working with hot glass at the furnace.

‘Sandcasts’, made in 1992.

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

I collect my ideas as small sketches in a detailed workshop book. I work systematically and have an extensive colour and texture pattern library with hundreds of patterns.

What is your inspiration?

Japanese arts and crafts. In my first year in London, after a visit to the exhibition ‘Japan Style’ in the Victoria & Albert Museum, I discovered and often visited its Japanese collection. I was inspired by the lacquer work, Samurai armour and, above all, the textiles. There I could find everything that still appeals to me today and reappears in my glass works: reduction, decoration with simple means such as combinations of stripes and their intersections as checks or diamonds (but no rigid geometry), sophisticated colouring, references to nature, the delicate play with structure and surface.

I describe the results of my fusing technique, with fine coloured lines and intersections, as ‘glass textiles’, with great similarity to the Japanese Ikat fabrics. I compose – in glass – a piece of ‘cloth’ that I place on a selected mould and then slump. The shape of the vessel is intended to show the appeal of my fabric to best advantage.

With Samurai armour, I was fascinated by the curved, lacquered bamboo plates used in combination with visible Sashiko stitches to reinforce several layers of fabric to form a padding. These structured effects have been incorporated into the air cushions of my glass pieces, where I explore how I can three-dimensionally transform the surface of my ‘glass fabrics’.

These ‘Vessels’ were made in 2006 and 2008. The striped one was shown in a CGS exhibition at the Pyramid Gallery, York, and is now in the Design Centre Collection, Ishikawa, Japan.

What message do you want to convey through your art?

That a bowl can be a work of art, like a painting or sculpture.

‘Bowl’ (2018) was shown in a CGS exhibition at London Glassblowing Gallery. It is now in the International Biennale of Glass Gallery Collection, Sofia, Bulgaria.

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

My technical equipment consists of a grinding and polishing machine, a sandblasting machine and a kiln. The latter is the most important for me, as it transforms my complex three-to-four-layer constructions of glass and coloured enamel powder into a usable sandwich to work on. The kiln is also the device with the greatest transformation factor in my work. I have a lot of technical experience and, largely, the pieces can be planned. Nevertheless, opening the kiln is still a special moment. I call it the ‘miracle bag effect’. My hope and amazement at the results remain unchanged after all these years!

The ecological aspects of kiln-firing have always been important to me, so I switched to a renewable energy supplier (wind and solar electricity) 20 years ago.

‘Flags’, with heights ranging from 39 to 42cm.

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

One favourite piece of mine consists of two standing arch elements [see main feature image]. It is now in the National Glass Museum in Sunderland, where it was the selected fused object in the Contemporary Glass Society (CGS) exhibition, ‘It’s all in the Technique’.

It was made using my technique of enclosed air pockets, a unique crafting process I have developed. It shows the finely woven, textile-like colour lines, the transparency of the glass, plus the perfect different surfaces of the front and back.

Where do you show and sell your work?

There are fewer and fewer exclusively glass galleries, especially those that show applied glass art. My work is exhibited in glass galleries in Drachselsried and Innsbruck, as well as in galleries for applied art in Munich and Diessen. I participate regularly in national and international competitions.

‘Bowl’, measuring 41 x 41 x 9cm, dates from 2016.

Do you have a career highlight?

Six times in a row (2007-2022) my vessels were selected for the International Glass Exhibition of Kanazawa in Japan, which took place every three years. Japanese influences have had a great impact on my artistic development, and I consider it a great honour that my objects are so highly regarded in Japan in return. Unfortunately, this triennial competition has been discontinued now.

‘Bowl’ (44 x 44 x 7cm) was made in 2017 and combines the texture and fine lines Ulrike loves to use in her work.

Where is your glass practice heading next?

The possibilities for new fusing variations are not exhausted yet; I am still discovering new facets. Glass casting in my kiln is another plan.

And finally…

Ulrike Umlauf-Orrom has a large colour and pattern library in her workshop from which to draw inspiration. Photo: James Orrom.

I am delighted to have been selected for an interview for CGS Glass Network digital, as a long-standing non-British member. My introduction to glass 40 years ago was only possible in the UK and my ‘glass roots’ lie in England. I would like to plead for the exhibitions and competitions of the CGS to remain open for non-Brits in the future, as such possibilities have been painfully reduced since Brexit.

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

Main feature image: ‘Arch Segments’ (each 35 x 12 x 31cm), made in 2022, was shown in the CGS exhibition ‘It’s all in the Technique’, at the National Glass Centre, Sunderland, UK. It is now in the National Glass Centre’s collection. All images by the artist unless stated otherwise.

Greener Glass Exhibition at Stourbridge Glass Museum

On show from 27 July 2024 until 27 July 2025, the ‘Greener Glass’ exhibition at Stourbridge Glass Museum (SGM) presents the beauty and innovation of environmentally sustainable glass art.

Co-curated by UK artists in collaboration with University of Birmingham students, ‘Greener Glass’ delves into the future of glassmaking, emphasising eco-friendly practices and the artistic exploration of environmental themes. It aims to showcase a diverse array of glass artworks that highlight the importance of environmental consciousness.

By exploring the boundaries of sustainable art, contemporary glass artists reveal how their creative processes and finished works can reflect a deep commitment to preserving the planet. Featuring several talented artists, including artists-in-residence at Stourbridge Glass Museum, the exhibition showcases techniques such as kiln work, glass blowing, flame working, mosaic and cast glass.

It demonstrates the transformative power of recycled materials, turning waste into captivating art. Additionally, the works on display by SGM’s resident artists are created using 100% renewable energy at its new electric furnace and studio, exemplifying the potential of sustainable artistic practice.

Featured artists are Hannah Gibson, Jan O’Highway, Elena Fleury-Rojo, Ivet Bibet, Allister Malcolm, Terri Malcolm, Madeleine Hughes, Kate Lipson, Gill Hobson and Scarlett Leonard.

If you are visiting the International Festival of Glass 2024 this summer, make a note to see this exhibition as part of your plans.

Stourbridge Glass Museum is at Stuart Works, High Street, Wordsley DY8 4FB.

Image: Hannah Gibson’s ‘Recycling Narratives Cohesion’ glass figure is made from 100% recycled car windscreen/windshield glass.