Interview with Glassprimitif

I’m a Londoner born and bred and lived there until I married a Yorkshireman and emigrated north 19 years ago. It was a bit of a culture shock for a city girl to live amongst green hills and wide open spaces. But I’m glad I was a teenager in London as I have fond memories of dancing furiously to punk bands at The Marquee and The Rainbow, promenading on the King’s Road on a Saturday, visiting Camden Lock on a Sunday, buying bondage gear at Kensington Market, annoying the hell out of my mother…. So now I am a mother of teenagers! They are lovely (most of the time) as we listen to the same music and they wear fabulous clothes. I don’t really have any hobbies as my interests are also my work so I relax by walking the dog for 3 miles every day (no matter WHAT the weather is doing). I like to go to gigs and gallery shows and meet up with friends but I’m not keen on most television shows and I hate opera. I love to talk about art and glass and am currently teaching my favorite subject – political art movements of the 20th Century- as I am VERY opinionated!!!

What is your professional background?

I studied textile design at art school before working as a freelance designer. When I moved to West Yorkshire I trained as a college art lecturer and I now work as artist-in-residence in a school and part time in a gallery too. (I also paint public murals).

What led you to your passion for glass?

My daughter did some enamelling at school and I was so impressed with her results that I bought a second hand kiln. Every piece of enamelling she made was wonderful, every piece I made was BAD so I started fusing small pieces of float glass instead. The result – I just had to buy a better kiln.

What's a typical glass day for you?

It’s more of a typical glass week really. I only get Saturday off from work so I spend the whole day cutting, grinding and cleaning the week’s glass ready for fusing. Every evening I race home from work to put the kiln on and every morning I get up and reload the kiln.

How do you feed your creativity?

Well, I work in a gallery so that’s fairly creative but I have most of my good ideas when I’m walking with the dog or in the car (hey, I’ve got to think about something when I drive)!

One word to describe glass.

Fragile

Three words to describe your studio.

Sanctuary, peace, chaos

What keeps you company when you're working on a glass project?

I don’t listen to music when I’m working with glass – it’s hard to cut glass when you are dancing – so I listen to BBC Radio 4, talk radio. There’s lots of news, features, stories and plays.

Favorite treat after a productive session or completed project?

I turn the volume waaaay up on the CD player and dance wildly to Icky Thump.

Favorite gift ever received?

Hmmmm. I’ve thought about this. When I was a child my sister bought me a set of really good quality paint brushes and I looked after them. When children are taught art they are so often given inferior materials to use – how does that help their creativity? I always bought my children good sketch books and materials.

Favorite task related to your craft?

Designing sushi dishes and cutting glass.

Least favorite task related to your craft?

Cleaning out the grinder. Yuck!

Words of wisdom for aspiring glass artists?

When I first started there was very little printed information – hooray for http://warmglass.com Read it and learn.

Shop Glassprimitif on Etsy

Past Spotlights

Creationsinglass
LisaHammer
Getglassy
Glassprimitif
Dichroicdazzle
Squidglass
Lawatha
CCValenzo
Papernclay
Burningscentsations