helping friends in shiny new places. +drawing more shapes

 I've had the chance to work with number of new artists lately. Its been rockin. In the last two months I've been to Sydney to work with Ben Edols, and Melbourne to work with a fellow named Mark Douglass. They were both short stays but wicked experiences regardless. I've been working with lots of artists in Adelaide too! Amanda Dziedzic,  Tom Moore, Nick Mount and I've had my first gaffer experience creating forms for my good friend Mandi King. Thanks Mando!

These cups were made while I was in Sydney with Ben and Kathy.

                                                     

Here are some other jazzy objects that just happened to be in the studio.

Patrick Primeau is another Canadian friend whose made it to Adelaide for a while. This is one of his works being made at UniSA hot shop. He and his wife, Caroline Oullette, run Welmo studio in Montreal.

I've been running a  sketch book workshop with the current associates at the Jam glass studio. Basically we are working together to achieve better habits around drawing and visualisation. I have give them some endurance drawing challenges and we have been working in the shop one on one as well; working through drawn ideas and getting them translated into glass.

 This is a little study from my sketch book. I'm trying to execute more ideas straight from the scribbles. Sometimes they are the good ones.

1 years worth

Here are some long overdue updates from my past year of making.

In August 2011 I travelled to Canberra to complete a 6 week residency at the Canberra Glassworks.

I did heaps of tests, concentrating on murrine, cold assembly (glueing), and coldworking in general. 

I also couldn't help myself from building some jazzy trios, as I often do. These teal forms were a hit.

I've been lucky enough to land a couple of commissions recently as well. These stemless wine tumblers have silver leaf scattered through the base. I made 40 all up.

Around about the same time I made a set of 8 more traditional looking goblets. Only 7 here as it took a few takes to get 8 real good ones,

Then just last month I finished a piece that is the largest object I've ever made. 'Cherry bomb' is 107cm  and though this pic doesn't show it, the piece has thin opaque red stringers running vertically up the cherry red form. It creates a super subtle red on red effect, sweet.

And, somehow,  I managed to put together another solo show in a neat little gallery at Urban Cow Studio in downtown Adelaide.  I titled it 'Future Antiques'  The work in the show was quite a literal splice of classicism with some sort of futuristic temperament. Renaissance still life tendencies combined with simplified, graphic versions of well known vessel ware.

The 'Future Antiques' idea also suggests that glass is a material with longevity and that consequently, contemporary glass objects will eventually become 'antiques' simply by the function of time. 

Those were the major happenings since I last posted, far too long ago.

I've been feeling inspired and optimistic lately and am really fascinated by the internet and the awesome power it has to spread ideas. I'm setting goals to take advantage of the beast, posting more, face tweet following and the like. So if you catch this blog and like the shiny things, share it around and leave us some feedback soIi always have something to improve on. thanks 

Visit to Saltmarsh and some reclaimed furniture!

Last week I restored an antique piece into our new coffee table!

Making something old-new is a great sensation.. I think I'll do it again..

I just cut the legs short, sanded the top back to bare wood and painted the rest mint!

I was so excited to start sanding the top that I forgot to take a 'before' shot.

Visited Warnambool in May. This resolve of this patch of grass was a memorable visual from the trip.

I spent 2 weeks with my friend Glenistair in this studio/gallery that he built himself! Its called Saltmarsh you should go there for a cuppa if you're ever in Warnambool, Victoria.

We drove this beauty to the studio each morning where we made his 'bishops table' project,

an interesting project to say the least. It was good fun to hang out with his fam and was just really beautiful down there full stop.

machines dreams

I dont know why, but I have recently lost sight of something I really want/need to do-

Make built in glasswares for homes. Integrated interior outfitting/design is a direction i intend to re focus on.

Before I came to the jam in Adelaide, I had this idea I called 'Heat Treatment-Custom Glass Interiors'. To me it meant the endeavour to seek and create jobs where I would be designing glass to be built into interior spaces in a hyper customized fashion.. The ultimate fantasy would be to work with architects and home owners, to make complete ranges of objects; lighting, drink wares, product staging and built in glass art features- all built into the spaces, structurally, with a holistic approach to stylizing a space as opposed to just arbitrarily placing things on mantles and tables with no real continuity or cohesive design vision.

I came across these 2 photos recently and was reinvigorated and re oriented to the 'Heat Treatment' dream.

I have made steps toward this dream. Thanks to the supportive nature of my folks, the above snap is of their lounge/dining room, where my dad and I chewed a hole in a perfectly good wall in 2008 and installed a custom shaped nook and shelf to house a set of 9 grey forms titled 'Shady Characters' with LED spotlights in the depth to boot... very snazzy. Its almost hard to see in this photo but thats kinda the point,, they are so quietly placed in the space, that they are almost hard to notice.. I like that quality. Built in, customised, sweet.

I'll try to find a shot of it all lit up at night.. its a very cool night light and feature of the dining room.

This photo is from a 2010 client named Jane Clayton who commissioned two over sized Tangent bottles to be placed in these alcoves in her lounge room.. It looks like they are the only thing in there.

This arrangement is a little more pedestrian in that the glass was made to fit an existing feature but its still a step in the right direction!

Anyhow just thought I should post these to help get the idea back into my head (get some feedback) and maybe even score some action! You want something to this effect? let me know, we'll do lunch.

I figure if I could just be a better administrator of this idea it could surely turn into a good facet of my career. hopefully.

Heres a link to The Guild Shop in Toronto, Ontario Canada.

I have sent some work there to be in a show called 'In Formed By Fire'

It opens may 19.. If you are in the Toronto area, check it out!!

weddin' set

Complete!

Here are some snaps of the finished set I spoke of earlier this month. It's 8 wine glasses, 4 champagne glasses, 4 sherry glasses, 6 tumblers and a carafe.

It arrived in Sydney last week just two days before the wedding and as far as I know, was well recieved.

I also sent 2 boxes to The Guild Shop in Toronto, Ontario. They were scouting around on the Glass Art Association of Canada website and saw some of my work and asked me to be part of a glass feature in their gallery in May.. It was the first time anyone had sought me out to exhibit work so I couldn't say no.. even though it cost several pretty pennies to ship over there.. the box is in hong kong right now and i will be very relieved when it arrives safe at the end of the week...

I am heading to a mates studio in the town of Warnambool on the great ocean road this friday... hes got a studio and is hiring me to help him make a full table set based on a 17th century 'bishops table'

Its 2 weeks work, I will miss my sweet Monica... she's gonna hold down our Adelaide fort and continue getting ready for us to visit in Canada in June.

thats all for now,

a pickle under a palm tree!

These are a set of Tangent Bottles that were Machine Made By Hand for the Generate exhibition in Dec. 2010. alabaster with clear, grey with black, clear with white.

Sweet.

Momz' really likes these and it looks like they might go back to Canada after all!
This is by far the coolest thing we own. Our most recent art acquisition, a thing by Tom Moore.

Also, i was just about to post new photos of a full set of cups but they are a wedding gift to be given later this month. And, although the internet is a huge place, its not that huge! i can't take the chance of spoiling the surprise. I'll post them at the end of the month... :(

there is boats of other stuff on,

-currently assisting in the glass studio more than ever with more artists, its awesome.

-got a new business card

-Formocentric opening Wed. 6th

-made some sweet new marble designs. Marble Merchants blog coming soon- for now find us on facebook

-Marble Merchants will be at the Barossa Living Vintage Festival later this month. slangin' marbles, t-shirts, and rad marble goblets.

-preparing to go to Canberra Glassworks in August for 6 week residency.

-currently have 15 bowls on order

-new gallery in Prospect, SA to stock work soon

-new gallery in Syndey, NSW to stock work soon

-have been invited to exhibit work at The Guild Shop in Toronto, Canada for glass feature in May (first invitation to exhibit, tick!)

the machine is definitely alive.