What drew you to work with glass?
It engaged so many aspects of my curiosity. It also allowed me to indulge in engineering, to learn the rudiments of running a small business, to engage aspects of design and to develop the discipline of a craft that is dependent upon understanding the particular qualities of a specific material.
What do you enjoy most about your craft?
I love the challenge. It’s difficult in so many ways – it’s a difficult medium to master, it’s difficult to function in the marketplace making work that has high overheads to produce, and it’s difficult to innovate in a medium that has such a long history.
© All rights reserved
What advice would you give to an aspiring glassblower?
Learn everything. Learn design and technique, but also how to build and maintain equipment. Learn how to formulate glass, how colour is generated, how to bring a product to market. Learn about the history of glass, meet your peers, work with masters. Become obsessed and stay obsessed.
What are your thoughts on the future of glassblowing?
Venetian glassblowers struggle with cheap imports, wider opportunities for young people and environmental concerns. In Ireland, where I live and work, there is no educational infrastructure underpinning any kind of training in my craft. In almost any way you want to look at it, it’s a craft in danger.