Looking for Emma Camden Glass Charms - do you know where these are?

 

In June 2007, I purchased this piece from Emma Camden’s exhibition ...something remaining... at Avid gallery in Wellington. ‘Fading memory’ is cast in pale yellow translucent glass. It represents a charm bracelet trinket in the form of a revolving double sided mirror. Cast into the glass ‘mirror’ face are the words ‘Fading’ on one side and ‘memory’ on the other, so that the words show through to combine as ‘Fading memory’. It is 14cm wide and 16cm long, with the ‘mirror’ being 10cm in diameter.

I published a brief note about Fading memory in this blog in June 2007 - see http://newzealandglass.blogspot.co.nz/2007/06/emma-camden-at-avid.html

 

 

The exhibition at Avid included several of these bracelet ‘charms’ in glass, which I understand were pieces based on a charm bracelet that belonged to Emma's mother. Emma is preparing for a retrospective exhibition (that'll be something to look forward to!), and she'd like to locate the other pieces from the Avid exhibition. If you have these pieces, or know where they might be, Emma would love to hear from you - contact her direct, or through this blog.

Crackle Glass by Chuck Simpson

Until now I've been only dimly aware of crackle glass, a form I tended to associate with trinkets from some European and American glass factories, and not something that appealed to me at all.  

So I was very surprised when this cranberry red crackle glass decanter appeared on TradeMe. 

The listing read: 

Cranberry crackle glass decanter with stopper.  
Very pretty and in lovely condition.
 
Signed by Chuck Simpson 1989. 
Very collectible piece.
28cm x 10cm 

No-one except me showed any interest in it, so my bid was successful. Now it has arrived I can confirm it is clearly signed Chuck Simpson 1989, when Chuck was working at Inglewood.

I can't recall seeing any other piece of crackle ware made by a New Zealand glass artist. Of course, now I'm hoping other examples will show up.

An article by Stan & Arlene Weitman in Angela Bowey's Online Glass Museum http://www.glass.co.nz/crackle.htm  tells me that crackle glass is formed by immersing the glass in cold water while it is still molten hot, thereby cracking the glass. The glass is then reheated and either mold or hand blown into the shape desired. The reheating of the glass seals the cracks. On the outside of crackle glass you can feel the cracks, but the inside is smooth.

Having experienced what happens when a hot glass object is dropped accidentally into a bucket of water (the explosion put my young daughter off visiting glass works for a number of years!), it sounds like a scary process, but it does create an interesting effect.



I will be interested to hear of other pieces of New Zealand crackle glass. I wonder how much of it Chuck Simpson made.

Are These Early Pieces by Keith Mahy?

Garry Nash said this handle was a Mahy trademark 19cm 

h

In June last year I wrote about the death on 14 June 2013 of Keith Mahy, one of the pioneers of glass in New Zealand http://newzealandglass.blogspot.co.nz/2013/06/keith-mahy-one-of-pioneers.html. One of my considerable regrets is that although Keith lived and worked so close to me in Northland, I never got to interview him about his life and work. I spoke to him about my intention several times and he responded willingly, but I never got round to it.

Sadly now broken, this handle was the identifier too

Again the handle form is distinctive 13cm h

One of the things I intended to do in that interview was to show Keith a number of pieces in my collection that I believe to be his, seeking confirmation that they are Mahy pieces. Keith seldom signed his work, and certainly in the early period I don't think he signed anything. So identifying his work is problematical. Some times a former owner will attribute a piece to Keith, sometimes other glass artists have recognised a piece as being made by Keith, but often I have made a (more or less well-) informed guess, based on design, glass colour and quality, and ultimately, 'gut feel'. It's not a very good way to identify pieces, but it is usually all I have. 

The TradeMe vendor said Keith made this pair of beer mugs

Mugs 12.5cm h left, 15.5 right

 

Bottle 28cm h, vase 13cm dia

I believe the pieces shown here were all made by Keith in the 1970s or early 1980s. But my purpose is to seek feedback from others who may know. Please let me know if you think Keith did not make a piece (or if you can confirm that he did, better still!). And for those of you who may use my blogs to help develop your own collections, 'caveat emptor et lector' - buyer and reader beware! 

 

The same vendor said these two were also by Keith

25cm h

23cm h

As I see more pieces, my confidence grows, but equally, the risk of making a mistake grows too! These two bottles 'feel' like Keith Mahy pieces, but are they?








And then, if those are Keith's, what about these?

22cm h

23cm h

21.5cm h

28.5cm h

14.5cm h

21cm h

Sam Halstead, Mt Eden stained glass maker in the 1980s sent me this photo of a Mahy piece he has, which he thought he bought in the early 1980s. That made me more confident about the brown one above.

9cm diam

A neighbour of Keith's in Pahi bought the piece at right from him in the 1970s, which gives me confidence the piece at left is by him too.

And lastly, of course, there can be no doubt about these, though Keith was the designer rather than the maker of these Crown Crystal glass pieces

A Glass Mini Road trip - Part 3 Whāngārei

Recently I had a chance to combine a non-glass related visit to Auckland with seeing several glass exhibitions and activities. Nothing particularly links these things except my participation, but they did provide some acquisitions for my collection. I have divided them up so they don't make too big a blog - this is the third of the series of three.

 

On my way back north, I called in (as I frequently do) at Burning Issues in Whāngārei. I was keen to see the new gaffer, Keith Grinter, who has taken over following the death of Keith Mahy (see my blog of 17 June 2013).  On his website http://www.keithgrinter.com/, Keith describes his excitement over his venture:

 

'On 16th September 2013 I started work in my own glass blowing studio in Whangarei. I had been discussing moving to Whangarei and working with Keith Mahy when he died unexpectedly. A few weeks later I was offered the opportunity of purchasing the studio by Shona Firman. With the help of Garry Nash I started the furnace on Tuesday and spent the next two days warming it up slowly until it was ready to add batch to make glass. During the week I made my first glass batch from the raw chemicals following Keith Mahy's old recipe. On Saturday 21st September I spent from 8am to 3.30 blowing glass in my own studio. Thanks to Shona Firman and Garry Nash for their kind support.'

 

Keith Grinter's art practice until now has had a painterly emphasis; he is a painter both on canvas and on glass.  Whilst I am sure that will continue, he has recognised the need to vary what he does, and he is currently working to develop his glass blowing skills. Not that he is any slouch; at left is a piece in my collection that was exhibited at the Academy of Fine Arts in Wellington in November 2007. 

 

But being totally responsible for a studio is quite a different matter, and Keith's current production is much more exploratory. I was delighted to purchase one of his 'trial' pieces, to document this new phase of his work. Getting rid of the bubbles is a current challenge. 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Another issue is the blue tinge in what is batched as clear glass. Rebecca Heap is continuing to blow her work in Whāngārei, as she was doing when Keith Mahy was there, and it was great to find she was there too when I visited.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rebecca had been working with Keith Mahy on a new furnace, and Keith had made its first batch just before he died.  With help from Garry Nash, Rebecca got that first melt going, and blew some pieces from it, one of which she very kindly gave me. 

 

 

Rebecca said ''Keith and I shared an interest in hand blown industrial glass so it seemed fitting to use an old factory mould to make these little cups out of the last batch he melted. They look especially nice when used as votives as the cold graphite thumb prints make the candle light dance. The glass is blue because it was the first melt in a new furnace and we bought the pot second hand from Gaffer Glass where it had last been used for cobalt colour bars".

 

The reference to industrial glass relates to Keith Mahy's work at Crown Crystal Glass, and Rebecca's experience working in Sweden at Pukeberg and Orrefors between 2006 and 2011, after she graduated from Whanganui.

 

I'm delighted that my 'local' glass studio continues, under new management, and I'll certainly be calling in to see Keith Grinter, and Rebecca Heap on her working days there, as I pass through Whāngārei.

 

 

A Glass Mini Road trip - Part 2 'Whispers'

Recently I had a chance to combine a non-glass related visit to Auckland with seeing several glass exhibitions and activities. Nothing particularly links these things except my participation, but they did provide some acquisitions for my collection. I have divided them up so they don't make too big a blog - this is the second of what will probably be a series of three.

 

Living in the North, I don't get to attend gallery exhibition openings very often. so I was delighted to realise that my being in Auckland would coincide with the opening of the exhibition Whispers at Masterworks Gallery in Ponsonby.  The exhibition (on until 17 November) comprises five stunning chandeliers made by 'The Crystal Chain Gang' from Masterton, being Jim Dennison and Leanne Williams. Sadly, the 'Gang' was not present (I guess it's a long way from Masterton to Ponsonby), but they certainly had a presence.

Jim and Leanne made their first chandelier in 2006. Because they are so labour intensive, the chandeliers are usually made as 'bespoke' items, made for a client on commission. Although by their nature chandeliers are made to be highly visible, they are not often able to be seen publicly, and especially not as a group.  Fortunately for us, the current Master of Masterworks Eloise Kitson worked with Jim and Leanne to bring together a group of these chandeliers together in an exhibition, five splendid Masterworks. Eloise kindly approved my photographing these so here they are. No photo has all five, but above are four of them.

  

Jim and Leanne often reference birds and feathers in their glass art, and these chandeliers are very feathery items indeed. 

But while some of the individual components are whole birds and some are individual feathers, as seen at left, very effective use was also made of elements comprising just the spine of the feather, as in the example at  the right.  A wonderful video running in the gallery showed how these were 'mass-produced' (something of an overstatement for these individually crafted pieces) by the Chain Gang.

This is the fifth chandelier, and is probably my personal favourite, though sadly the architecture of both my house and my budget mean I'm not likely to be able to add this to my collection. But I was delighted to have the opportunity to see this wonderful group of works. Thanks, Jim and Leanne (and Eloise).

Two footnotes. Jim and Leanne have a great website which documents their work, both chandeliers and other amazing creations. It's well worth exploring at http://www.crystalchaingang.co.nz/.

Secondly, for northerners, the Crystal Chain Gang's current touring exhibition Fancy Fool's Flight opens at Piece Gallery, Matakana on 23 November until 16 December. I saw this remarkable show when it was at Objectspace in Auckland. It's amazing, and I'll certainly be calling in to have a second look while it is in Matakana.

Seal Island Continued the West Coast Tradition

I have posted a couple of blogs about Avalon Glass, the pioneering and quite individual glassworks at Fox River on the South Island West Coast. Several partnerships, both personal and artistic developed and changed there over time. 

This small jug (10cm high) is signed Braid '99 NZ

One outcome after Avalon Glass itself had closed, or was nearing its close, was the Seal Island studio established by Ross Smith and Lynda Braid. Ross Smith was one of the founders of the Avalon Studio in 1985 with Lawson Bracewell and Greg Smith, joined subsequently by Robert Reedy 6 months later and then Roger Thompson. Lynda joined Ross at Avalon in 1993, and in 1996 after Avalon closed they formed Seal Island Studio, named after a small island (uninhabited, at least by humans) just west of the mouth of the Fox River.  

Signed Seal Island 1999 Aotearoa NZ (L) Seal Island NZ 2002 (R)

Between 1993 and 1995 Ross was the owner of the Avalon works, which he leased to Greg Smith and Robert Reedy when they were working there. Greg has told me that he never worked with Lynda, so it is currently a little unclear whether Avalon and Seal Island were physically separate, or were different names for the products of the same place.

Signed Braid '99 NZ

 Signed Braid Seal Island 2000 (9 cm high)

Scent bottle by Ross Smith signed Seal Island RS '98 Aotearoa NZ

Some of the Seal Island pieces are signed with that name and some with the artist's name. After the partnership broke up, it seems that Lynda went on working at the studio on her own for a period, though it has now closed. A jug sold recently on TradeMe (594745225) signed Seal Island NZ Braid 05, so Lynda was still at Seal Island in 2005

Karen Hope Made Glass in Whanganui

One of the exciting things about collecting New Zealand glass is the opportunity to make a new discovery, new to me at least.  In December 2010 a trader on TradeMe offered this piece with the description 'Karen Hope perfume bottle with removable stopper, signed and dated by artist, app. 8cm high, modern design in shape and size, is in perfect condition white swirl line rotating the glass with a yellow translucent inner set glass.'

I knew from my archival research that Karen had exhibited at Masterworks in Auckland in 1990 and at an exhibition in Wellington in 1991.  I had never seen any of her work, and beyond those mentions I knew nothing of Karen Hope, but it looked like a good piece.  I paid the 'Buy Now' price. It is signed 'Karen Hope '90', as well as having a paper label with 'Karen Hope' in ink.

The vendor wasn't able to tell me anything, but Google produced a mention in Anthony Genet's (FlameDaisy) biography on the Thornton Gallery website of a highlight in his learning having come from a workshop with Karen Hope (among others).  That set off a trail of enquiries to Anthony, Tony Kuepfer and Lyndsay Patterson, who were as always very helpful.  Lyndsay made enquiries of Nigel Jones at the Wanganui Glass School as well.  Glass people are always helpful and friendly in my experience.

 

The Charlotte Museum Trust has two of Karen's (or is it Kharen's?) s pieces- you can see them at http://www.nzmuseums.co.nz/esearch/object?a=3024&q=Kharen+Hope. The piece shown here is a portrait of her grandmother who wanted to be a doctor but was not allowed, and so she married a doctor as the only way to do it.

Maybe I'll get to meet Karen some time and find out about her directly, but what I have established is that she was a student at Whanganui under Tony Kuepfer in the late 1980s.  She went to England and spent some time improving her glass skills there, then returned to Whanganui about 1992, when she became a tutor at the former Wanganui Regional Community Polytechnic School of Glass.  Sadly, about 1996 she developed repetitive strain injury and had to give up making glass.  She sold Lyndsay Patterson some of the glass making tools she had bought in England - they were made by Ivan Smith, a specialist toolmaker for glass, and Lindsay treasures and uses them still.

I'll be keen to see more of Karen's work, or to find out more about her career in glass, so if you can help, please let me know.