BLOG – 35 YEARS AGO BLOG 21

I’ve been showing off my glass skills long before I set up Glass Creations. I moved to Thurso in 1981 and worked at Dounreay as chief scientific glassblower, (no one really gave me a job title as such but a grade). In 1982 I arranged my first glassblowing demonstration in Caithness. This was for St Annes Ladies Guild as the photographs show. The idea was that Dounreay wished to promote nuclear power through being activity involved in the local community. What better way to do this than let their Chief Glassblower out into the “wild” and show off.

Transporting everything one needs for a glassblowing demonstration is onerous as it involves burners, heavy gas cylinders and delicate glassware. Thankfully whilst under the direction of Dounreay I was allowed time and a vehicle (plus that ever-important driver!). I have carried out demonstrations for nearly every SWRI group and beyond I think in both Caithness and Sutherland. I have judged more than my fair share (and filled my stomach) of home baking.

Since operating Glass Creations I still gladly offer demonstrations, but these are based in my own studio, Thurso Glass Studio. I have hosted visited by several groups of all ages and in my experience the young ones are fine. It’s the oldies that one has to watch and tell them not to touch anything as they always do!

The focus of demonstrating my style of glass working is blowing hot glass from a flame and then allowing volunteers to have a go themselves. I can guarantee at least one will blow too much and litter the studio with minute fragments of thin glass. I have given talks about my work using power point presentational material but its not the same. A projector overheating isn’t the same as a burner emitting two-metre-long flames!

The trick is to select something to make as quickly as possible since people have a short attention span. Then the icing on the glass cake is to sell said item! Trouble is this is never the same experience for each demonstration.