ConnemaraBlue

Creating fused glass involves shaping pieces of glass and firing them in a hot kiln (typically 740-810C) to access the fluid qualities of the material at those temperatures. Preparing the glass can be painstaking and demanding of both time and patience. Shaping and cutting the glass and then assembling the components can be very satisfying, but hours of work (on what is a very brittle and unforgiving material when cold) can be wasted with one small slip of the cutter.

As a young man I went to see some works by the Catalan painter, sculptor and ceramicist, Joan Miró (1893-1983). Now, decades later, in designing for the kiln I have discovered a liking for the chaotic geometry I found in his surrealist paintings.

I find the gentle curves, flowing lines and varying colours of the Connemara landscape enjoyable to represent in glass. While the predominant colours of Connemara are green and brown, there is also a need to represent the colour blue. The infinite blues of the sky, rivers, lakes and sea are the reason I call my work Connemara Blue.