Artist's statement

When I was child I wanted to grow up and be a fireman. As I got older this dream changed into becoming an artist. I've become a sculptor who works with glass as an expressive material, thus satisfying my childhood love of fire and imagination.

Every material has a story. Glass is an ancient chameleon, carrying forth its story from the beginnings to the present, contributing to human endeavours perhaps more than any other material. This is what interests me about glass and why I craft it. So what are the strands that make up this story?

Glass, it's been the makeup bottle of Egyptian Pharaohs; the clear crystal goblet of Europe's royal courts; Galileo Galilei's telescope brought Jupiter's moons into view and changed our perceptions of the earth and solar system; scientific fields emerge and thrive with glass including optics, medicine, physics, astronomy, chemistry, and photography; its the mirror that allowed us to see our own face; the window pain that brings sunlight into our homes. Glass is the humble light bulb, the cathode ray tube, the monitor screen and the fibre optic cable.

Glass is all around us. Our own story of creativity is intertwined. I'm interested in the points of intersections, where our own human story, our humanity, consciousness, mortality, perceptions and spirit, junction with glass. In turn my practice consists of crafted objects, sculptures and installations that are singular incorporating glass as poetic expression.

Portrait Photos: Angie McDuff