SEEING IT CLEARLY
Written for idFX magazine

Almost two years on, it’s time for preparations to begin for the British Glass Biennale 2006. Glassmakers are finalizing their designs, and speakers are preparing their speeches, but what will this year’s exhibition have in store for visitors to the Ruskin Centre, Stourbridge?

Mention glass art and the usual suspects begin to fill the frame – Sweden, Bohemia, France, and Italy, but the Brits are making a stand against their European cousins. Following worldwide events, such as 2004’s International Festival of Glass, the Britons are becoming a serious contender in the glassmaking industry. The world is finally waking up and smelling the sweet smell of molten glass.

Curator of the British Glass Biennale Candice-Elena Evans says that last year’s event has made a start to converting the public to glass art, ‘people are accepting glass as art slowly in this country. The success really depends on the artist, and how their work is marketed. Although there are huge numbers of art galleries in this country, few specialize in glass. That is normally left to art shops.’

The UK has been neglected when it comes to Art Glass, especially when compared to the scene in the US. America has a history of creating art pieces from glass. With the Studio Glass movement in the 1960’s, Americans have been brought up on a culture of glass as art. There are far more art courses that specialize in glass as a medium, and artists are nurtured to produce innovative pieces. Although there are a select few university and college art courses that specialize in glass making, they are hugely over-subscribed. Universities are also beginning to invest money into glassmaking, with Sunderland University buying a new water jet machine that allows precision cutting of glass, but there is a long way to go before the UK will be as technically advanced as the US.

But, advances in technology and availability of new techniques mean that glass can be used in more ways than in the past. For example, ‘smart’ glass can change from transparent to opaque with the flick of a switch. Traditional sandblasting is being challenged by laser engraving to create internal imagery in glass, and strengthening techniques mean that the material can be used for much more than glasses and vases, while the introduction of dichroism has allowed glassmakers to utilise and manipulate a vast array of colours in a single piece. The cost of these methods is huge, and this is a problem in the UK, where little money is available for the development of such an industry.

Keith Cummings, a spokesman from the University of Wolverhampton says that nurturing the art of glass making is not an easy task, ‘Ideally, there could be more nurturing of glass as an art medium, but it is expensive and hard to justify in our increasingly pressurised education system. The only way to provide more art glass courses in the UK would be to set up private Art schools, but economically this is unlikely. Events like the British glass Biennale can only help the situation.’

In September, the second British Glass Biennale will take place, inviting artists from around the country to demonstrate the power of glass. After the success of 2004, 2006 promises to be a year brimming with innovation. Last year, we saw hanging glass figurines, flying saucers and beautiful glass swans. We can expect bigger and better projects this year.

‘Because we are having open submissions this year, we are hoping to attract a much wider audience,’ says Evans. ‘I think that we will see more architectural pieces, and a lot more multi-media items, especially with the introduction of the Net Infinity Prize.’

The Net Infinity Prize is part of the British Glass Biennale, and encourages artists from the north of the UK to collaborate with glass artists to create a piece that reflects arts of the West Midlands. The cluster groups are based on the West Midlands established traditional crafts of carpet and rug making, furniture making, glass, leather goods, jewellery, ceramics, clothing and textiles, and will be judged using the same terms and conditions of the British glass Biennale. This encouragement for other craftmakers to get involved in the glass industry can only be a positive thing.

‘We are on the verge of a turning point for glass,’ says glass artist, Desiree Hope. ‘It struggles to be classed as art and wants to break free from its label of craft. Artists are constantly looking for new materials to express themselves, but maybe in the future artists will look back to traditional materials such as glass. I think a work of art in glass is more likely to stand the test of time than say Tracey Emin’s unmade bed.’

No longer will the Brit art glass scene be left out of glass conversation. It will stand proudly alongside the likes of Tiffany and Steuben, Gallé, Kosta Boda and Murano glass. It is high time that British glass gains the appreciation it deserves.

International Festival of Glass
21 August 2006-28 August 2006,
Ruskin Glass Art Centre, Stourbridge.