Features

Each July, I exhibit my work at Art in Action near Oxford.

Art in Action provides a creative environment in which artists and craft workers can demonstrate their skills and engage with the public.

This year I will be linking up with the illustrator Cliff Wright, who created the covers for both Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets and the Prisoner of Azkaban.

It is a collaborative display that we are both looking forward to.

Growing up on the island, I was very experimental in my approach to art, however glass is my job as well as my passion and I have to pay the bills. I cannot rely on one-off commissions, I have to make some work with a mass appeal.

Everyday I face creative challenges that I must overcome. The technical side is very rewarding but equally frustrating. I have been working with glass now for over ten years and I still have the same enthusiasm, if not more.

I originally set out to do a joint degree in ceramic and glass, but as soon as I saw the possibilities of the material, I knew it was glass I wanted to pursue.

There are so many types, stained, kiln cast and blown to name just three.

During my course I applied and was accepted into Chihuly’s Pilchuck Glass School in Seattle, where I was taught by Venetian Maestro, Emilio Santini.

Emilio is a Venetian Master of glass with generations of experience behind him.

On completion of my course, I was asked to stay on by Emilio. I spent an incredible nine months teaching all along the East Coast of America.

I learnt a remarkable amount about sculptural figurative work and bead making. This was a very inspiring time.

When I returned to the Island after my degree course, I knew I would have to work to support my glass, a dilemma faced by many applied art and design graduates.

I soon began exhibiting my works throughout the United Kingdom and on the Island. I consider a lot of my work to be art, but many gallery owners class it as craft work, so getting an exhibition in an art gallery can be difficult.

Art doesn’t have to come in a frame!

I applied and was accepted as the resident Courtyard artist in 2002, and have been able to support myself from my glass ever since. I often volunteer my time to assist glass experts in the UK and abroad, so I can continue to learn my craft from the very best.

My reputation is getting to the point now, where people will travel to the Island for my tuition.

I teach glass annually across America, Turkey, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and on the Island.

My portfolio is diverse and includes flameworked pieces, but also encapsulated dioramas that are sandcast with flameworked inclusions.