I work with glass: kiln-formed glass.
An introduction to the medium at Glasgow School of Art in 2015 sparked my imagination. I discovered the thrill of opening the kiln after a firing to see what heat, time, temperature, and gravity have done to the glass.
My approach to designing depends on the material used. With window/float glass, I rely on shape and texture, rather than colour, and so I use techniques such as “kiln-carving” where a 3d design is created in ceramic felt, and the glass moulds around the design at over 800C.
When using powdered coloured glass my design approach makes use of how the different thicknesses of the powder result in different shades of colour after firing. And I’m exploring moving from structured to more free-form shapes in my coloured glass designs.
My clear glass and wire fish sculptures came about as I had a glut of double glazing and copper wiring after replacing all the windows and wiring in my house. The fish then prompted the question “I like your fish: could you do a chicken?”, and I enjoyed the challenge, and the outcome of that commission.
I said I “work” with glass: more accurate to say I “play” with glass.
