BLOG – 35 YEARS AGO BLOG 9

Most of the glassware I produce is clear, but I acknowledge the attraction of coloured glass. Over the years I have tried several methods for creating colour. One method is to use coloured glass rod or tubing. Fifty years ago, the choice of colour was limited. I think only four colours were obtainable and one of these a shade of yellow contained some Uranium. I had several rods kept safe in my workshop at Dounreay and was always bemused when their presence set the monitoring equipment into alarm mode. Now one is spoilt with hundreds of colours from across the World!

My style of quirkiness means I rely on shape and concepts to get my message across. Sometimes this is not enough, and I have used precious metals such as gold and platinum suspended in liquid to paint on glass to create wonderful lustres. This is great for glassware celebrating golden weddings etc. It is time consuming and of course this extra is passed onto the customer. Lustres don’t always work as intended and I think the beauty of clear glass is lost under a coat of camouflage.

My gripe with coloured glass is the fashionable names. I make puffins and use white glass amongst red, blue, black and yellow. Certain colours change their appearance when heated which make it tricky to work a combination of colours in the flame.

In the early days I just used glass paint to put on clear glass and if the customer handled the items with care all was well. A few times I was on the receiving end of an irate customer who put their glass in a dishwasher only to discover the colour had come off. In my experience-coloured glass using this method if not conducted with care looks tacky.

I received a grant when Glass Creations first started trading and I bought a sandblaster. I didn’t really want one, but people liked the effect. It was noisy, messy and labour intensive so I got rid of it several years ago and have never regretted it.