Lynn Foster >> 

The glass I use comes from the world’s preeminent maker of art glass – Bullseye, based in Portland, Oregon, USA. Some of the glass is opaque, some transparent, some single colours, others mix colours in a streaky finish, or incorporate random bits and pieces in a mardi-gras format. Some of the most dramatic sheets have an iridescent and/or textured finish. 

 

Usually working to a sketch, and cutting sheets of glass to fit that design, I combine pieces of glass, much like making a collage or a jigsaw puzzle. Most pieces are then enhanced with frits and powders (ground glass ranging from very fine to coarse), stringers (thin rods) and/or thin shards of glass confetti, and occasionally with special glass enamel paints. Work is then fired in the kiln at temperatures up to 805 centigrade, depending on how much texture I want to retain. This is followed by a second firing, where pieces are slumped into a mould to produce the final shape. At this stage, I take some pieces to a glass workshop a few miles away, where I have access to a sandblasting machine that I use to impart shading, or a matt finish, or surface decoration. 

 

I am constantly experimenting in this challenging medium, sometimes encountering breakages, things that don’t quite work, or nicks and cuts from sharp edges, but the joy of seeing a wonderful piece emerge from the kiln far outweighs these minor tribulations. 

 

My principal studio is in London, at the Cockpit Arts craft studio complex, but I also have a small kiln in the laundry room at my house in Colchester, so whenever inspiration strikes, a kiln is not far away.