Narrating Process - a Northlands Glass Experience

Remember back when it was summer and some of us lucky few got the chance to travel and take some amazing glass classes? GSoI member Catherine Keenan travelled to our friends at Nothlands Creative Glass, an amazing glassy place not too far away from us - find out about her experience!

'The Worst Journey in the World' James Maskrey

My first experience of Northlands was in 2008 when I got the opportunity of being a teaching assistant for american hot glass sculptor Richard Jolley.  It was one of those complete shot in the dark applications that surprisingly, and dauntingly paid off!  Luckily I wasn’t the only TA, seasoned Northlands gaffer James Maskrey was also there.  This put me in the comfortable position of being Richards second assistant and also to work directly with the beginners to glassblowing.  It couldn’t have been a better experience to build up my confidence in the studio and also in teaching.

I had forgotten what a special place Northlands is and this time I was the student and James Maskrey the teacher.  Since I last saw him in Scotland in James has become a leading figure in British glass, and deservedly so.  He masterfully marries his virtuosity in a variety of glassblowing techniques with his talent for storytelling to make sublimely elegant vessels that subtly suggest narratives in the form of marks, colour, text, and figurative glass miniatures.  A large body of his work brings to light fascinating details of historical journeys such as that of Cook, Scott and Shackleton.

“Narrating Process” was the course title and we had nine packed days to explore themes and means of employing storytelling in blown glass pieces.  There was a clear structure to the course, we had two projects to complete, a short ‘one-liner’ and a more substantially researched final project.  The first day was spent exploring the local area to gain inspiration, we then had allotted ‘bench time’ (glass blowing) and also the opportunity to see demonstrations by Jim.  I was particularly interested in seeing incalmo and murrini and also his ‘Working Solo for Sad Singletons' - how to blow glass without an assistant.  

making murrini

For me this was the first time since I was a college student, seven years ago, to really indulge in the creative process.  Since then I have hired studios to make my work and therefore experimentation has been very limited.  The nine days at Northlands was a chance to play with the material, to be less precious and not worry if the piece ended up in the bin.  It was a chance to generate new ideas and approaches, to be challenged and thereby consolidate what I do and why I do it.  It was essentially a more intense and condensed art college experience, and I loved it!

Catherine's class experiments 

As our masterclass leader, James set the tone for the group dynamic.  There were six in our class, of a variety of ages, skills and backgrounds.  I’m not sure whether it was due to being so closely involved with previous masterclasses at Northlands, or because he was in a rugby team in his youth, but James made great efforts for our group to bond.  One particularly clever ploy was a game he devised, we each had to choose our favourite music track, tell this only to Emma Baker our TA, who made a list of tracks at random and then we had to guess who’s track was whose.  We each threw some money in the pot and the winner got the lot...although they had to take everyone else to the pub and buy the drinks!  I think this investment in the social side of the class was very insightful on James’ part.  It made for a very pleasant working environment, we all enjoyed and benefited from hearing each other’s ideas and half of the experience of going away to do a class should be the time spent with new people. 

The class group

The staff of Northlands are also obviously aware of the essential social aspect to the experience, with amazing dinners arranged every night, a programme of students and tutors giving presentations of their work in the evening, and a day in the middle of the course to explore the local area in groups (I joined the boat trip that followed the breathtaking coast from Lybster up to Wick)

The studio experience was brilliant, with unlimited access to materials and more than enough bench time to make work.  Just being at Northlands however, meeting interesting people in a ruggedly beautiful landscape, was equally enjoyable...and I even saw the northern lights!

Written by GSoI Member, Catherine Keenan

Glassblowing in Stourbridge

The following article has been written by GSoI member Catherine Keenan. Catherine Keenan is a glass artist based on the lovely north coast of Ireland, in Portstewart.

Finding a glassblowing studio whose hiring rates are reasonably priced, with a skilled assistant on hand, if desired, and the studio is always up and running and available has proven difficult to find over the years.  Since 2009 I had travelled to Sunderland to hire at the National Glass Centre, but with their major renovations last summer I was forced to find a new venue.  So I took a chance on the ‘Stourbridge Glassblowing Studio’, at the Ruskin Glass Centre.  It is part run by my ‘old’ teacher from the International Glass Centre, Stephen Foster who shares it with Peter Fricker and brothers Ian and Vic Bamforth.

A major draw for me to hire their studio is the fact that Ian Bamforth assists me, therefore he knows all the workings of the space and as a skilled maker can offer helpful advice.  He’s also easy going and a good laugh...that always helps when under pressure due to the expense and time restraints of hiring!

Although you will need to bring your own hand tools, with a some prior communication, the studio has everything else you would need.  I would suggest to other irish makers who are flying over to order your glass colour so it is delivered directly to the studio. 

There is an introductory offer for your first day of hiring; £135 and subsequent days are 

£170 each.  It’s £80 per day for an assistant.

If you can spare some time to see the area there are several museums and quite a few studios to visit.  The Ruskin Glass Centre, which hosts the British Glass Festival and Biennale, has many glass artists based there and also the recently opened Webb Corbett Visitor Centre.  I was fortunate enough to be personally shown around the museum by former factory master glassblower Malcolm Andrews.  He also happened to teach at the International Glass Centre, Brierley Hill (before my time) and had very fond memories of a young Paedar Lamb!

Not far up the road (it’s called the ‘Crystal Mile’) is the Red House Glass Cone, which is the only fully intact example of the18th century red brick glass cones that used to be dotted all over the area.  There’s a museum display and glassblowing studio with live demos.  Then, just a bit further still, is Broadfield House Glass Museum which has a huge glass collection ranging from the 17th century to the present day.  You can also watch skilled glassblower Allister Malcolm at work.

If you like real ale I can’t imagine there’s a better place in England to sample a wide variety of great beer in real pubs...that’s another reason to enlist Ian as an assistant as he’s a wealth of knowledge on decent pubs!

It’s easy enough to get to Stourbridge from Birmingham airport, there is a train station at the terminal (connected by a monorail), you get the train to Birmingham New Street, then walk to Moore Street Station (5 mins) and get the train to Stourbridge Junction, and finally get a connecting train to Stourbridge Town.  You can get a taxi from there, or ask at the bus station for a stop by the Ruby Cantonese Chinese Restaurant which is beside the Ruskin Glass Centre.

If you have any questions feel free to contact me via email: catherinekeenan126@gmail.com

Links:
http://www.catherinekeenanglass.com/

http://ruskinglasscentre.co.uk

http://ruskinglasscentre.co.uk/tennants/stourbridge-glassblowing-studio/

http://www.ianbamforthglass.com

http://www.dudley.gov.uk/see-and-do/museums/red-house-glass-cone/

by Catherine Kennan

Karen Donnellan writes about Jeff Zimmer for GAS Newsletter

Jeff Zimmer’s background in acting retains a strong influence over his work. The series, Theatres of Glass (2010-2011) is an obvious offshoot, but even the newest works from the whitewash series feel like a scene, set for action. After completing a Bachelor of Arts in Theatre Studies, Zimmer realised the vulnerability inherent in acting in the rehearsal stage was too much for a lifetime’s pursuit. Conversely, creating an object separate from the artist allowed him to experiment with creative abandon in the privacy of his own studio. Thus began his career as a visual artist and maker.

The artist’s current series, whitewash, is decidedly political in content. In each of these beautiful snow-scapes, the debris and reminders of death are only partially hidden from view. It is an anti-war statement, but is made in a way that “those who supported the war can look at it and appreciate it.” Jeff employs a Taoist approach in the assertions he makes
within the work. Being very conscious of the growing polarization of politics and society in the US, his work is an empathetic communication of his ideals. While consciously making them as beautiful as possible, it allows for the ugly message to be put across in a more digestible way. In doing so, he hopes for the audience to appreciate the duality without judgment. In his own words, the work alludes to “the way in which we all try to whitewash something of ourselves, as individuals and as nations. It’s a human need to see oneself as someone who is good on some fundamental level, so that tension between the desire to present ourselves as good, is in conflict with the knowledge we have of the bad things we have done.” 

The key moment that redirected his creative energies towards painting in particular, came to pass at an exhibition of cubist art at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts. Jeff describes this as “an incredible damascene moment where I suddenly started to see the world rendered in flat planes of three-dimensional stained glass. It was unlike anything I had seen in my life, but I knew then that I was going to work with flat glass.” Following several years of researching and solitary experimentation on the kitchen table with a 7” square kiln, Jeff came across a work by Judith Schaechter called Little Torcher at Renwick Gallery in DC. This pivotal discovery brought about some drastic technical and visual changes in Zimmer’s work and Schaechter later became a mentor.

 He also recognizes Tim Tate and Michael Janis of the Washington Glass School among those who inspired and supported him early on in his glass career. “Tim Tate was there at the beginning, being able to share a studio with him as he set up the Washington glass school opened so many doors, and the fact that he was so interested in taking glass and pushing it forward in terms of content was significant,” Zimmer says.

In 2004, Zimmer began working towards a Master’s to allow for a more focused and full-time exploration of the technique. His research of programs on both sides of the Atlantic lead him to the Edinburgh College of Art (now part of the University of Edinburgh). The program, then lead by Ray Flavell and Alec Galloway, was one of few that offered Architectural glass on a full time basis. It was here that his ideas on perception and ambiguity developed, which remain strong themes in his work to date. Upon graduation, he was offered a position as Artist in Residence, in addition to teaching architectural and stained glass to part-time students in conjunction with the college’s Office of Lifelong Learning Program. Jeff still runs the part-time stained glass course and is presently a Temporary Lecturer in Glass within the main Glass Department.

A residency at North Lands Creative Glass in 2006 brought about another shift in artistic direction for Jeff. Having arrived in this remote landscape at the Northern tip of Scotland with a very cerebral proposal for new work, it proved difficult to resolve. However, he couldn’t help but respond to the 360-degree horizon he found there, which his first landscapes. The impetus of the series was in part, “to capture that elemental feeling of such vast space.” Previous to that opportunity, Jeff’s work had been strongly figurative, but as I found out, his military father painted landscapes as a hobby. Jeff’s work does stem from a very different emotional place, but even so, perhaps it is no surprise that he has been drawn to the genre.

Despite these references and the suggestive title, we were All wrong, the work retains an element of ambiguity. As for the frames, those are scoured from second-hand shops and auctions. The more ostentatious and grandiose, the better. As a classic marker of important and perhaps conservative art, Jeff conciously utilizes them to undermine the cosy nature that the patina of time gives to older art, implying a feeling of safety.

The notions of borders will be explored in Jeff’s next body of work, which is particularly relevant as the Scottish Independence Referendum is coming up in 2014. Where, as the artist notes, “We will have the whole country deciding how we define ourselves... Who is in? Who is out?”

Jeff is the editor of the Scottish Glass Society newsletter, which is published on
a quarterly basis. His work is represented by The wexler Gallery in Philadelphia and Maurine Littleton Gallery in washington, DC a quarterly basis. 

Jeff Zimmer will be teaching a glass painting workshop at the National Sculpture Factory this April, for more info see the NSF website: HERE 

This article was first published in GAS News, January 2013

The GSoI would like to thank  the GAS for allowing the reproduction of the above article for our blog

By Karen Donnellan

JERPOINT GLASS FEATURED IN LONDON DESIGN FESTIVAL 2012 VIDEO

A Place To Gather is a 5 minute film about Irish craft created by emerging Dublin based film producers Jamie & Keith, which was launched during London Design Festival 2012. A Place to Gather is about an approach and craft’s relationship to a wider culture. It is about a maker, a practical person in an often bewildering world. It is about a person; rooted and aware, drenched in the weather and materials of the land, part of a community, local and global, hedgerows and cables, influenced from inside and out, time’s power being respected and the materials’ better nature drawn forth. It is about a holistic way of thinking, an approach that creates objects of use - be that practical, emotional or intellectual. Objects that hold the tactility of their construction and through their use add value.

The video features Horizon Furniture, Studio Donegal, Basketbarn, Jerpoint Glass and Derek Wilson Ceramics.

W: http://www.aplacetogather.ie/

ANDREA SPENCER EXHIBITING IN METAMORPHOSIS, BELFAST

Curated by Rowan Sexton, Metamorphosis is an exhibition showing work by Andrea Spencer (UK), Stephen Brandes (UK), Vanessa Donoso López (ES), Priscila Fernandes (PT), Cainneach Lennon (IE), Tom Molloy (IE), Ann Murphy (IE) and Magnhild Opdøl (NO).

Metamorphosis alludes to the process of transformation, where a profound change of form, structure or substance occurs. This exhibition aims to establish clear associations between art and the natural sciences, and to contextualize these dual frameworks, where significant cultural common ground exists. The biological mechanisms of growth, change and evolution are examined in tandem with material, philosophical and conceptual concerns within the visual arts. Highlighting the mutual elements in these distinct disciplines opens up a discourse, which emphasizes experimental overlaps, perception and interpretation, in an historical and contemporary context.

At its core, Metamorphosis aims to explore the dynamic relationship between art and the natural sciences. Each of the artists involved has a unique approach to the dual topics under consideration, and their diverse interpretations encompass a multitude of styles and methodologies. The exhibition encourages a deep integration between both disciplines, and incorporates artworks that investigate experimentation, hybridity, physiological studies, psychoanalytical models, musical interpretation, the historically traditional métier of taxidermy, the specialised craft of glass blowing and sculptural interventions within the space.

Metamorphosis will open at PS2 on Friday 19th October from 6 – 9pm and the exhibition will continue until 10th November 2012. The gallery opening hours are Tuesday to Friday 1pm -5pm, Saturday 11am-3pm.

W: www.andreaspencerglass.com
W: www.pssquared.org

JUST GLASS SEMINAR, LONDON

Just Glass will host their 2012 seminar Finishing Touches; British Studio Glass on Saturday 20th October. This seminar will take place at The Conway Hall, London. Speakers include Katherine Coleman, Catherine Hough, Francis Federer, Richard Jackson and Anthony Scala.

Discounted ticket booking at £22.50 is currently available for the Just Glass Seminar. This offer will end on 14th September, after which tickets will cost £25.

W:  www.just-glass.co.uk
 

AVAILABLE PLACES AT NORTH LANDS, SCOTLAND

Due to cancellation, places have become available on the following classes at Northlands:

Angela Jarman
‘From the Outside In’
29th August to 6th September 2012
Fee: €880

Jacqueline Poncelet
‘Give and Take’
29th August to 6th September 2012
Fee: €800

Susan Stinsmuehlen-Amend
‘Painting in the Space of Glass’
11th to 19th September 2012
Fee: €800

2012 Conference ‘Give and Take
8th to 9th September 2012
The conference will explore conceptual and stylistic exchanges over time between different cultures and media. Speakers will include the Master Class leaders and a diverse range of guest speakers, demonstrations, and an evening party. As part of their conference programme, North Lands are also hosting the SGS exhibition ‘Cultural Exchange’ and a number of events will run during the conference as part of the national campaign Glass Games 2012.

W: www.northlandsglass.com

CONTEMPORARY GLASS SOCIETY INVITES SUBMISSIONS TO EXHIBIT, UK

Two important new exhibitions of world-class glass art are about to mark a renewed interest in a medium that beautifully blurs the boundaries between fine art, craft and design.

Hot Glass: new work from the furnace will be dedicated to the best in contemporary blown, hot-worked and sand-cast glass and takes place at London’s Contemporary Applied Arts (CAA) gallery next spring. Hot Glass, a collaboration between CAA and the Contemporary Glass Society, will present a dynamic mix of new work from some of the world’s most talented artists.

New Glass: Ancient Skill, Contemporary Artform will focus on the skill and creativity of today’s glassmakers in an exhibition at the stunning Blackwell Arts and Crafts house in Bowness-on-Windermere. New Glass, jointly organised with the Lakeland Arts Trust (LAT), will run from January to April next year. It will showcase the best of glassmakers’ skills and artistic vision in synergy with the house and its history. The exhibition will also reveal something of the hidden processes that underpin the glassmaker’s art. Drawings, models and photographic documentation of processes will be presented alongside the work selected for the show.

Both exhibitions are being organised by the Contemporary Glass Society as part of Glass Skills – the second stage of a two-year project to put contemporary glass on the map. The programme began this summer with more than 70 glass events inspired by the Olympic games. Glass Skills follows on with a year-long celebration of the imagination and talent of contemporary glassmakers and their role in keeping ancient skills alive. Artists are now being invited to submit work and proposals.

W: www.cgs.org.uk

AA2A PLACEMENTS 2012/ 2013

The AA2A project offers artists and designer makers the opportunity to undertake a period of research or realise a project using art college facilities e.g. workshops, IT facilities, lending library, and lecture programme. AA2A schemes aim to benefit students and Colleges through their interaction with practising artists.

Access to facilities is free for at least 100 hours, between October 2012 and April 2013 and a materials/travel grant of £220 is usually available. Closing dates for applications vary but all are in September 2012. Applicants must have at least one year professional practice and should be able to work with minimal technical support. Artists on AA2A schemes run from 2009 to 2010 or before can now reapply. AA2A particularly welcomes applications from applicants with disabilities, from culturally diverse backgrounds and non-graduates.

W:  http://www.aa2a.org/colleges

CONTEMPORARY GLASS SOCIETY INVITES SUBMISSIONS TO EXHIBIT, UK

Two important new exhibitions of world-class glass art are about to mark a renewed interest in a medium that beautifully blurs the boundaries between fine art, craft and design.

Hot Glass: new work from the furnace will be dedicated to the best in contemporary blown, hot-worked and sand-cast glass and takes place at London’s Contemporary Applied Arts (CAA) gallery next spring. Hot Glass, a collaboration between CAA and the Contemporary Glass Society, will present a dynamic mix of new work from some of the world’s most talented artists.

New Glass: Ancient Skill, Contemporary Artform will focus on the skill and creativity of today’s glassmakers in an exhibition at the stunning Blackwell Arts and Crafts house in Bowness-on-Windermere. New Glass, jointly organised with the Lakeland Arts Trust (LAT), will run from January to April next year. It will showcase the best of glassmakers’ skills and artistic vision in synergy with the house and its history. The exhibition will also reveal something of the hidden processes that underpin the glassmaker’s art. Drawings, models and photographic documentation of processes will be presented alongside the work selected for the show.

Both exhibitions are being organised by the Contemporary Glass Society as part of Glass Skills – the second stage of a two-year project to put contemporary glass on the map. The programme began this summer with more than 70 glass events inspired by the Olympic games. Glass Skills follows on with a year-long celebration of the imagination and talent of contemporary glassmakers and their role in keeping ancient skills alive. Artists are now being invited to submit work and proposals.

W: www.cgs.org.uk

CONTEMPORARY GLASS SOCIETY CALL FOR EUROPEAN ARTISTS, ONLINE EXHIBITION

The title of the next Contemporary Glass Society online exhibition is Statements and Questions – European Sculpture. Sculptor Pilar Aldana-Mendez will select and curate the works for this exhibition of European glass sculpture.

Glass artists based in Europe are now being asked to submit entries. This opportunity is open to both members and non-members of the Contemporary Glass Society. Artists must reside in Europe (this show does not include artists based in the UK). The deadline for submission is 27th July 2012. Please email submissions and include one image only of your sculpture in JPEG format. The application must include: artist’s name, country of residence, contact email, title of work, year, size, photography credit, and description of work (e.g. technique, materials used, context for this exhibition, etc.).

E: cgsweb@hotmail.co.uk
W: www.cgs.org.uk

INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL OF GLASS MASTERCLASSES, STOURBRIDGE, UK

A number of influential glass artists will host various masterclasses in the week leading up to the International Festival of Glass at Stourbridge, UK in August 2012. Those teaching will include Ian Hankey (UK), Richard Marquis (USA), Bandhu Scott Dunham (USA), Fritz Dreisbach (USA), John Lewis (USA), Shelley Doolan (UK), Antoine Leperlier (FRA), Diana East and Sean Taylor (UK), Vanessa Cutler (UK), Tanya Veit (USA), Allister Malcolm (UK), and Alison Kinnaird (UK). Full course descriptions and programmes are available on the International Festival of Glass website.

W: http://www.ifg.org.uk/all-classes.html

INTERNATIONAL ARCHITECTURAL GLASS SYMPOSIUM, UNIVERSITY OF SUNDERLAND

Working with Light as a Means of Interaction between Space and the Mind is the title of the University of Sunderland’s international architectural glass symposium to take place on 17th and 18th May 2012. Speakers will include Alexander Beleschenko, Rodney Bender, Algirdas Doveydenas, Marián Karel, Tim Macfarlane, Daan Roosegaarde, Judith Schaechter and Dana Zámecníková. Conference fees are £55.00 for one day and £90.00 for two days (if booked before 1st May 2012).

W: http://onlinestore.sunderland.ac.uk (search conference/events - International Glass Symposium)

ARCHITECTURE AND THE ARTISTRY OF GLASS, UNIVERSITY OF WOLVERHAMPTON 

As part of the 2012 International Festival of Glass this one-day symposium entitled Architecture and the Artistry of Glass explores the relationship between glass and architectural forms whether in terms of building materials or the artist wedded to architecture. The symposium brings together artists and designers with distinguished international profiles including John Lewis, Danny Lane, Brent Richards, Tomasz Urbanowicz and Keith Cummings. This symposium will take place on Friday 24th August 2012 from 10sm to 5pm. Prices: standard £130/ student £65.

E: Max.Stewart@wlv.ac.uk
W:  www.wlv.ac.uk/artanddesign/glassbiennale

GLASS AFLOAT CALL FOR ENTRIES, THE INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL OF GLASS
The International Festival of Glass is pleased to announce Glass Afloat; the inaugural exhibition of glass sculpture on the lake at Bodenham Arboretum taking place from 1st to 27th August 2012. Artists are invited to apply for this exciting exhibition – we are looking for work which will be innovative and impactful, experimental and of a high standard, celebrating the huge variety of glass practice today. All works must have a considerable glass element, however, other materials such as metal, wood, rubber and plastic may be used. Bodenham Arboretum is an award-winning arboretum in Worcestershire, approximately 9 miles by road from the Stourbridge Glass Quarter. Works will be floated on the three acre lake and around the shallower ‘hidden’ areas creating a fascinating trail for visitors to explore. The deadline for entries is Monday 23rd April 2012.

E: glassafloat@ifg.org.uk
W: www.ifg.org.uk
W: http://www.ifg.org.uk/get-involved/glass-afloat-5.html

LONDON INTERNATIONAL CREATIVE COMPETITION

LICC invites all visual artists to submit their creative work for inclusion in the LONDON CREATIVE AWARDS.  The artwork is juried by a board of internationally esteemed artists, writers, curators, gallery owners and other luminaries of the visual arts. There is no limit to creativity. LICC has no boundaries and encourages you to push the envelope of your creativity. All disciplines are accepted.

Deadline: April 30, 2012
Entry Fee: Professional: £20, Student: £15
Prize: £2,000 cash prize, selected work published in LICC’s annual Book of Creative Designs, a feature in the LICC newsletter, and the much sought after LICC Trophy at the London Creative Awards in September of 2012.

W: http://www.futuremakers.ie/2012/03/12/2012-london-international-creative-competition/

THE FRESH AIR SCHOLARSHIP

The Fresh Air Scholarship is a unique opportunity for an emerging glass maker who has completed his/ her formal training to work and gain experience within a leading UK commercial and creative glass-blowing studio environment.

The scholarship will run for fifteen weeks commencing in September 2012. The essence of the scholarship is to enable the candidate to develop within the context of the creative marketplace and then to move forward with his/ her own business. As part of a glass blowing team the successful candidate will receive training and be involved in all aspects of the operation of the studio whilst developing and documenting a body of work that will be exhibited and sold/auctioned at the Fresh Air Exhibition 2013. Applicants are asked to send a CV detailing their glass experience together with photographs of any recent work to Loco Glass Ltd, Studio 2, Brewery Arts Centre, Brewery Court, Cirencester, Gloucestershire, GL7 1JH .

E: info@locoglass.co.uk
W: www.locoglass.co.uk

INTERNSHIP AT JAMES LETHBRIDGE GLASS

James Lethbridge Glass is a developing business specializing in the design and making of both bespoke chandeliers and sculpture. To date the business is experiencing record demand for products and one or more interns are required to help facilitate the completion of orders.

It is expected that interns will engage in all aspects of the business from learning glass-making skills (flame working and glass blowing) through to sales and final installation of work. In today’s competitive arts market, this internship may prove to be a useful experience for anyone thinking about starting their own business.

The internship is located in London, Holborn at Cockpit Arts, and is an unpaid position, although James Lethbridge Glass is happy to negotiate expenses.  Also, for applicants who apply from outside of London, accommodation may be available free of charge. It is expected that the internship will last a minimum of 4 weeks, with working times negotiable to suit the applicant.

W: www.jameslethbridgeglass.com
E: james.lethbridge@network.rca.ac.uk

GLASS STUDIO ASSISTANT, GLASSTORM, SCOTLAND

Glasstorm is a highly respected Scottish based contemporary glass studio based in the picturesque town of Tain in Ross-shire. The studio was established in 2005 by Brodie Nairn and Nichola Burns. Both have professional practice of over twenty years, working with some of the world’s best master glassmakers and studios both in the United Kingdom and in Europe and America. Glasstorm specialises in hand blown bespoke glass works in clear and coloured glass with and without moulds.

The role is for a full-time Glassmaker’s Assistant (45 hours/ week) who can professionally assist Glasstorm creating bespoke pieces of hand and mould blown glass in both the hot and cold workshops. The successful candidate will possess a strong attention to detail, and be enthusiastic and knowledgeable about the entire process of hand-blown glass. This is an interesting yet very demanding job. The position will provide an excellent opportunity to develop technical and organisational skills as well as the experience of working in a successful and vibrant glassblowing studio. Applicants must have educational or industrial glass experience and will be looking to progress with their training in a professional studio.

The position will be permanent after a three month training and trial period. Salary is negotiable depending on experience.To apply please send a CV and covering letter to info@glasstorm.com or by post to Glasstorm, 2 Chapel St, Tain, Ross-shire, IV19 1EL. The deadline for applications is 15th May 2012.

W: www.glasstorm.com

INTERNATIONAL ARCHITECTURAL GLASS SYMPOSIUM, UNIVERSITY OF SUNDERLAND

Working with light as a means of interaction between space and the mind is the title of the University of Sunderland’s international architectural glass symposium to take place on 17th and 18th May 2012. Speakers will include Alexander Beleschenko, Rodney Bender, Algirdas Doveydenas, Marián Karel, Tim Macfarlane, Daan Roosegaarde, Judith Schaechter and Dana Zámecníková. Conference fees are £55.00 for one day and £90.00 for two days (if booked before 1st May 2012).

W: http://onlinestore.sunderland.ac.uk (search conference/events - International Glass Symposium)