Hand and Heat

25 February - 7 August 2022

Vitrine | Free

There is a charming combination of human strength and delicacy with these glass and ceramic objects. Both art forms have evolved from utilitarian creations of need to present objects of beauty.

Shaping clay is a physically demanding pursuit, working out excess air in the clay to avoid explosive bubbles when fired, centering just right on the wheel and decorating the vessels with pristine stillness and finesse, all done by hand. Firing the objects at a searing heat captures the work as a contemporary sculptural form.

In glass blowing, a pipe originally made of clay (now metal), is used like a straw where air is blown through it from the artists’ mouth into a molten glass ball adhered to the other end. Glass is formed and coloured, all the while spinning the blowpipe vigorously by hand. A furnace is used between each addition to the molten glass ball, allowing it to be continuously malleable until the final result is achieved. With these two mediums, the creative possibilities are endless.