Discovery Day at the Victoria and Albert Museum, London

Saturday, 7th December 10am to 5.15pm
LINK for tickets

Sponsored by

· the Victoria and Albert Museum https://www.vam.ac.uk/

· Pearsons Glass https://www.pearsons-glass.co.uk/



Be there and just be inspired!

The Contemporary Glass Society continues to expand horizons and take contemporary glass into the community through its iconic Discovery Days. CGS is the UK’s foremost organisation supporting both established glass artists and up-and-coming makers. Our mission and passion are to promote contemporary glass among the art world and wider public.

CGS returns to the Victoria and Albert Museum in London for its final event of 2024.
Come along to our Discovery Day which is open to all!   Join inspired glass artists and listen to their fascinating stories. Have time to meet and network with fellow makers and enthusiasts, explore the Museum’s winning galleries and be part of a memorable day.

DISCOVERY DAY PROGRAMME
on Saturday, 7th December, 2024

10.00am        Museum opens. Registration & coffee

10.30am        Welcome

10.45am        " You gotta grind while the grit's runnin ! " by Theo Brooks

11.45am        “Like a Moth to a Flame: A Journey into Molten Glass   Sculpting”  by Laura Quinn   

12.45pm        Lunch & tour of galleries (1hr 30minutes)

2.15pm           “Unlimited Restrictions” by Opal Seabrook 

3.15pm           Tea and coffee and networking

4.00pm           “Glass Print and the Creative Journey – Layer by Layer” by James Cockerill   

5.00pm           Farewell

5.15pm           End of day

5.45pm           Museum closes

LOCATION:
The Hochhauser Auditorium, The Victoria and Albert Museum, Cromwell Rd, London SW7 2RLTel: 0207 9422000

TICKETS:

CGS members admission to the event is £45 including booking fee and morning and afternoon refreshments.

There are 20 student tickets at £30 including booking fee and morning and afternoon refreshments.

Non CGS members £55 including booking fee and morning and afternoon refreshments.

All the tickets sold out for last year's event and there was a waiting list. SO......Book early before we start promoting the event to the general public!

LINK for tickets

With thanks to our sponsor:

· the Victoria and Albert Museum https://www.vam.ac.uk/

· Pearsons Glass https://www.pearsons-glass.co.uk/

Speakers

" You gotta grind while the grit's runnin! " with Theo Brooks


Theo Brooks is a British Cypriot glass maker from London. His passion is creating contemporary reinventions of important ancient Cypriot artefacts as sculptures and installations, to represent his Cypriot culture and promote Cypriot arts. Alongside this, he blends his two cultures into the aesthetics of the objects, taking visual inspiration from growing up in south London. This connection to tradition, identity, ritual and history explored through such a challenging medium such as glass, gives a unique perspective on these cultural objects, which has not been investigated in depth before in glass.

Theo Brooks studied glass at the University for the Creative Arts, Farnham and gained his Masters in Fine Art from Bowling Green State University, Ohio, USA. He apprenticed in hot glass with Simon Moore, Smithbrook Glass Blowing Studio and Rothschild & Bickers Ltd, and studied glass cutting with Philip Baldwin and Monica Guggisberg, in Paris, France. Theo has work in permanent collections and has exhibited globally. He has also won scholarships to attend masterclasses at Penland School of Crafts, Corning Museum of Glass and the Toledo Museum of Glass.

The talk at the discovery day will be an insight into Theo’s journey of working with glass, alongside the ancient influences and objects from Cyprus. A dive into the ritualistic objects and iconography of Cyprus, and the different glass making techniques involved in creating his work from hot sculpting in the hot shop to lathe cutting in the cold shop.

“Like a Moth to a Flame: A Journey into Molten Glass Sculpting”
 
with Laura Quinn

Laura Quinn is an Irish glass artist based in Reading. She obtained a BA (hons) in Glass and in Art & Design History from the National College of Art and Design, Dublin and an MA in 3D Design Crafts from Arts University Plymouth in 2019. In 2022 she exhibited at Collect Open in London and has been selected for both the Ireland Glass Biennale and the British Glass Biennale.  Laura was the recipient of the Golden Fleece Award and RDS Craft Bursary in 2022, two of Ireland's most prestigious arts awards. In the same year she was awarded funding from the Queen Elizabeth Scholarship Trust, becoming a QEST scholar. Her work has been acquired for Ulster Museum’s Public Collection, and the OPW’s Irish state Art Collection. Alongside her creative practice, she works as the Glass Technical Tutor at the University for the Creative Arts, UK.

Laura creates interactive sculptures using a combination of traditional glass making methods such as glassblowing and lampworking combined with digital technologies and alternative materials. The interactive sculptural forms she creates encourage close human engagement to challenge the perceived restraints of glass as being too fragile to touch. Based on theorist Michael Polanyi’s writings on tacit knowledge, her work explores what silent knowledge of the material the viewer can obtain through sight and touch. She designs and creates her work so that it is modular; it is often composed of hundreds of meticulously handmade glass components combined with flexible materials to create moveable, durable frameworks. This interface is vital in creating pieces that garner a close human-material relationship.

Laura's artist talk will introduce her glassmaking journey covering both the technical and conceptual developments. She will discuss the highs and lows along the way and share with the audience a little part of the magic world she is honoured to be a part of.

“Unlimited Restrictions” with Opal Seabrook

I love storytelling, creating beautiful artworks with an interesting or even dark back story, and using what people have called my quirky character to make people smile. I believe art is good for the soul and for mental well-being, and I try to bring art into as many people’s lives as possible.

Following a visit to Scotland many years ago, I discovered traditional stained glass making and fell - quite accidentally - into the wonders of glass art which quickly drew me in and began my journey into the art world. Since my introductions into glass and throughout my journey I have often been told about restrictions - what can’t be done in stained glass, what can’t be done in fused glass, etc - without being given reasons. This encouraged me to test, trial, and develop methods to bypass them.

During my talk I will take you on my journey, looking at how I work as sustainably as possible, engineering and developing new techniques to mitigate the restrictions in the glass, the glassmaking and in perceptions. I will give you a glimpse into how my first year as a full-time glass is going, and where I see the future taking me.

“Glass Print and the Creative Journey – Layer by Layer”

with James Cockerill

For the past 13 years, I have dedicated myself to building my studio and establishing my career as a glass artist. My primary medium is glass, which I transform into visual narratives using silk screen printing, traditional glass paints, and enamels.

I have focused not just on mastering my craft but also on discovering and refining my artistic voice. This journey has been filled with both challenges and triumphs, and it has been influenced by my interactions with the materials I use and other artists I've engaged with.

I’ll be talking about my creative processes and how I have navigated the path to finding my unique voice in the art world. I’ll share insights into the techniques of silk screen printing on glass and the use of photo montages to create layered works. Additionally, I will discuss the pivotal moments and key influences that have shaped my artistic thinking.

LINK for tickets