HalfFullGlassUK

I got to that 'now or never' point where you know you have to tackle the thing you've always wanted to do but have avoided because you fear failing horribly. So I upped and did a Foundation Art and Design course at De Montfort University, alongside a lot of perky teenagers a third of my age. And many of them were off-puttingly talented!

So this was how I got to work with glass for the first time. I just love it as a material. It has so many faces: brilliant translucent colour, or soft opacity. Glittering shine or complex textures. You can melt it into moulds, push it around a steel mandrel to make beads, and saw and polish it when cold. It can be shaped like wood or metal, and assembled like patchwork - it's like every other material rolled into one. Er, yes, I'm quite keen on it.

Since then I've done short courses with some wonderful experienced glass artists. My aim is to grow and develop as an artist, and produce things which please me; and I hope, please others who like the same sort of strange, off-centre beauty as me!

Moira XX