About Me.
Artist statement
There are many reasons why I work with glass, although I was ceramic-based in the past. Studying at age 15 I had an interest that strived me to work with the sculptural side of art. I was eventually drawn to the more ethereal, fluid and translucent qualities of glass. But what really hooked me was the opportunity glass provides to play with colour. I am a graduate level glassblower in the City of Wolverhampton making colourful glass sculptures from raw ingredients on a daily basis. Glassblowing allows for variations of intensity with hue, tone and depth which are not available with commercial objects. Recently, I have been experimenting with iridizing, Swedish overlaying hot glass with hand-pulled and twisted complex canes. I am captivated by the rainbow flow of colours with variations of metallic and matt surface textures. One of the aspects I’ve truly enjoyed about working in a team is having the same skill with the people that I work with because their expertise has been valuable when I have needed assistance at such as at the bench blow stage. I have been fortunate to be given the opportunity to work with talented assistants and a technician as this has provided me with the learning platform to develop and create glass that reflects my vision The main focus for the glass work that I have been producing over the last three years is to be an aspiring glass artist. Initially the glass work that I started to produce were fairly small pieces which were comprised of paperweights, glass flowers, vases and sculptures. Discussions with glass blowers highlighted the challenges that I would face if I did not possess the true mind set such as dedication. However, I was determined not to let anything get in the way of following my ambition of becoming a glass artist therefore put all my energies, knowledge, passion, dedication and commitment into the work that I have been doing. A majority of the glass work that I have created has been inspired by nature. The colours caught my imagination and filled my head which helped with ideas for glass coloured sculptures. For example, one of the pieces that I created was based on the idea using colour from nature, which was to produce flower paperweights. I really wanted to learn how a glass flower was made and this is where my work on paperweights stemmed from. I wasn’t attempting to make botanical specimens so that my work could connect to certain viewers. I now have a line of more than 30 flower form paperweights ranging from abstract and familiar flowers. The two types of paperweights that I have made are abstract and familiar, these have helped me to be more specific in terms of who I am able to target the paperweights to. I was able to use techniques requiring intense concentration and great skill to produce individual one off pieces using colours that were specific to different targets. In addition to the glass work I have described above I have thoroughly enjoyed and perhaps would go as far as to say is my most ambitious work to date are my large-scale glass sculptures. The inspiration behind these pieces were from illness and emotions I have been through. I have enjoyed letting my imagination run wild in their design. I hope that the viewer finds my work to have a sense of beauty, fragility, and Lugubrious. It is a pleasure for me to share what I do, I find it all great fun and an endless challenge. Every piece is a challenge and an adventure and you never know exactly what you have created until you open the annealing kiln and see how a piece has turned out. I love that moment of surprise. |