Gallery
I am inspired by simplicity and repetition; it is best described to me through forms with simple lines, and basic forms that have an elegance achieved through clean edges
My hand blown glass vessels are slightly crooked and wonky, which helps tell of their making. None two are the same.
Absolution - Artist Statement - Click on the following link to view my Absolution art work
My work for this project looks into how we are defined as people by the very secrets we carry within us, with each glass vessels symbolising a container for the secrets.
I believe that secrets become stories once they are told, so I have designed the bowls to be open for the purpose of releasing that story.
The two differently sized vessels together represent the concept of holding onto and remembering stories, as well as the ability to tell a secret to someone you trust. The glass bowls are designed as containers that will carry or hold secrets from the past.
Whether secrets are precious or destructive depends on the individual, but one thing is for sure: when a secret is told, it releases a burden on the soul, and moves into the physical plane to become a story. It is these stories that shape and define the very essence of who we are.
Jabula - Artist Statement- Click on the following links to view my Jabula and Jabula (1) glass art
South Africa inspires me: the farm of my childhood; the colours, forms, textures of the land; the Zulu culture, the tribal storytelling traditions that inform native crafts. Jabula means happiness in Zulu.
The Jabula series acknowledges the many languages of my homeland, the tongues which speak the stories of the land. The pieces are a fusion of traditional and contemporary craft arranged as a multi-lingual work. I see this as a process of translation: the story is inherent.
The glass vessels take a traditional African form and represent the languages spoken in South Africa. The variety of colours reflects the vast and changing landscape of South Africa as a whole.
While growing up I watched the Zulu women weaving baskets and mats out of grass and plastic bags and found myself fascinated by the ingenious use of waste materials. Some of my blown vessels are made from assorted cane giving the glass a woven basket look. South African drinking vessels are hand made either from clay or grass and are organic in shape. No one is the same as another. They are hand carved or woven and each individual craftsperson has their own unique design or pattern.
It is the very tactile quality and basic honesty of a hand crafted object that holds the secret to the story of the makers’ lives, their experiences and their history.
Shapes and Colours- Artist Statement - Click on the following link to view my Shapes and Colours
Shape appeals to me… shapes within shapes and the relationships between different elements of an object. I am attracted by the connection between two pieces and the symbiotic relationship they reveal: a feeling that one cannot live without the other. It is this feeling I also have explored in producing the glass pieces that make up my vessels.
Trophies - Artist Statement- Click on the following links to view my Glass Trophies collection
I appreciate the ‘visible imperfections’ that develop from the fluidity of molten glass to its annealed form, as well the fine workmanship and unique individuality of the pieces, which would be lost if produced by machine.
I am inspired by simplicity and repetition; it is best described to me through forms with simple lines, and basic forms that have an elegance achieved through clean edges.