“Light through glass reminds me of light through water”
I grew up on the East coast of Australia where I spent much of my childhood in boats on Moreton Bay and along the beaches and tidal rivers of South East Queensland. I have lived in Northern New South Wales for 22 years and when I'm not in my studio, I can often be found combing the beaches near my home. Water has been a lifetime attraction.
The intense and ever varying colours of the Australian coastline are a constant inspiration. I am also inspired by the beautiful Bellinger River and the pristine creeks and swimming holes of the Never Never Creek near my home in the Bellingen Valley. Recycling is something of a passion for me and has been since childhood.
-In lead light window panels, I use the bases of broken wine glasses and discarded coloured glass bottles which I kiln-fire.
-In my mosaics, I incorporate “pique assiette” techniques – the artistic re-use of broken ceramics - plates, dishes, cups, tiles - and other found objects into my designs. I love to make mosaic covered boxes incorporating broken treasures. This way favourite pieces of ceramic that have broken can be used to cover trinket boxes.
-Surf tumbled sea glass is another recycled inclusion in my jewellery, windows and mosaics. Seaglass is something of an obsession with me. Kiln forming glass allows depth to be incorporated into designs. Combining frit (tiny pieces) glass, stringers and dichroics in my kilns, I create platters, bowls and glass art panels. I also use this beautiful combination of glass and metal to make a range of Dichroic Jewellery
In Rome in the Fourth Century AD, alchemists added gold to glass to form the first dichroic (or two tone) glass. Modern dichroics have been developed and used by NASA for their optical properties. As you can see in my photos, dichroic glass is the perfect medium for a range of Pendants and Touchstones. For my Sea Glass Jewellery I source genuine surf-tumbled sea glass from around the world. From Scotland to Staten Island, from Puerto Rico to Hawaii, there are beaches where all manner of refuse has been dumped into the ocean. The vast majority of this has degraded away in time or washed away, but the sea glass is thrown back to us as a jewel-like gift from the deep. Sharp edges have been worn away by the waves and sand, creating gems that shine from within. The beautiful colours of sea glass have their origins in domestic glass from days gone by. A blue shard may be the remains of a Noxzema jar, a bottle of Bromo-Seltzer or a Liberty Milk bottle. Old Coke bottles produce delicate pale-green sea glass. Beer bottles give us shades of amber and clear glass becomes many shades of luminous white. The range of colours that can be found in sea glass seems limitless. However supplies of certain colours of sea glass are becoming increasingly rare. This kind of dumping is mostly a thing of the past and – sadly - plastic has replaced glass to a large extent. Using recycled sterling silver and genuine surf sculpted sea glass from all around the planet, I have created a range of Earrings and Pendants, each one uniquely an object of recycled beauty.
