25 research outputs found
Cross-cultural histories and traditions between the cut and engraved glass scenes of the UK and Japan
Get PDFRecent research conducted by Heritage Crafts, a prominent national advocacy organisation dedicated to preserving traditional heritage crafts in the UK, has unveiled a concerning trend: several traditional craft skills teeter on the edge of extinction within the UK. This revelation stems from the Heritage Crafts Red List of Endangered Crafts, an initiative which identifies crafts facing the risk of endangerment. In their recent 2023 publication, Heritage Crafts highlighted the distressing decline of cut and engraved glass craftsmanship in the UK, categorising and placing both brilliant cutting (as endangered) and copper wheel engraving (as critically endangered) on the Red List of Endangered Crafts in the UK. This means that these crafts pose the risk of not being actively practised. In December 2023, the alarming downturn of these crafts in the UK was explored and discussed during a conference held at Edinburgh College of Art (ECA), entitled Edo-Kiriko: The Art of Japanese Cut Crystal. This event explored the cross-cultural connection and exchange that exists between Scotland and Japan, drawing upon a rich historical exchange that saw the transmission of Western-style glassmaking from Scotland to Japan in the 1870s–1880s. It also details the more recent exchange that has been in place between Edinburgh College of Art (ECA) and the Horiguchi Kiriko glass studio in Tokyo, Japan. This modern-day exchange has seen the recent transmission of glass-cutting skills through a masterclass led by Toru Horiguchi at ECA. This paper presents this conference, introducing the invited speakers and creating a commentary on the proceedings and the plenary discussions that unfolded. Focus and discussion will be given to the factors that have contributed to the current decline of cut and engraved glassmaking in the UK and the possible measures that could be taken to support and safeguard this field. The final part of this paper will offer a reflection on the conference proceedings and will conclude by making an urgent call for the future of cut and engraved glass craftsmanship in the UK. It is hoped this paper will draw attention to the urgent need for support from education and funding bodies, to safeguard and protect these vital heritage crafts, which boast a rich history in the UK
Material Fluidity
Get PDFRAFT IS A RESEARCH NETWORK THAT AIMS TO SUPPORT AND EXPLORE THE CHANGING IDENTITY OF CREATIVE PRACTICE. CHAIRED BY PROFESSOR SARAH KETTLEY AND DR JESSAMY KELLY, THE NETWORK BRINGS TOGETHER RESEARCHERS IN DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES AND TRADITIONAL WAYS OF MAKING.Material Fluidity was a joint exhibition of work presented by members of the RAFT Research Group at Edinburgh College of Art (ECA) and the Craft Cultures Research Group at Birmingham City University. The annual RAFT exhibition was showcased at the Tent Gallery at ECA from the 26th of April to the 3rd of May 2019
Material Fluidity
Get PDFRAFT IS A RESEARCH NETWORK THAT AIMS TO SUPPORT AND EXPLORE THE CHANGING IDENTITY OF CREATIVE PRACTICE. CHAIRED BY PROFESSOR SARAH KETTLEY AND DR JESSAMY KELLY, THE NETWORK BRINGS TOGETHER RESEARCHERS IN DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES AND TRADITIONAL WAYS OF MAKING.Material Fluidity was a joint exhibition of work presented by members of the RAFT Research Group at Edinburgh College of Art (ECA) and the Craft Cultures Research Group at Birmingham City University. The annual RAFT exhibition was showcased at the Tent Gallery at ECA from the 26th of April to the 3rd of May 2019
Entrapment within inner space:The development and review of other materials as intentional inclusions within glass as a creative artistic practice
Get PDFThis paper will introduce the use of intentional inclusions and inner space within glass as a means of creative expression, as an emerging area of practice-based research within the field of art glass. This includes the definition of key concepts, a short history of inclusions in glass, the development of technologies used by material scientists working with inclusions and the industrial applications of inclusions in glass will be discussed. This paper will discuss the completed doctoral research of Jessamy Kelly who explored ceramic inclusions within glass and Goshka Bialek who explored metal inclusions within glass. Both glass artists explored the use of foreign, intentional inclusions which have been entrapped within glass within their doctoral research. Glass artists that use a variety of metal, ceramic and other inclusions to penetrate the internal space of their objects will also be introduced. This paper will set the parameters of the field providing an in-depth study into the concept and use of inclusions which plays an important part in understanding why some glass artists use inclusions within their glass. It is significant to recognise a collective response, from many artists detailed in this paper and their exploration of the internal space within art glass objects, to create an inner space or world within their artworks. This paper will define and explore the variety of ways, both from a historical and contemporary perspective, that inclusions in glass, have been combined together over many years
The hot state combination of glass and ceramics in artistic studio practice
Get PDFIn 2009, Jessamy Kelly completed her practice-led PhD at the University of Sunderland which investigated the feasibility of combining glass and ceramics in a hot state in studio practice. She will present the results of her research at the GLASSAC 2011 Conference. The starting point for this research project was to develop a model for others in the field that would expand the creative potential of combining glass and ceramics in studio practice. Glass and ceramics are generally viewed by craft practitioners as two separate disciplines, which are rarely combined in studio practice as most practitioners prefer to focus on just one discipline. A small number of artists have been found that work in both glass and ceramics, however, it became apparent that their results were not always successful as incompatibility in the materials surfaces were visible in the form of stresses and cracks. The majority of artists who combine glass and ceramics do so in a cold state to avoid these compatibility issues. It was also evident that glass and ceramics were not often combined in studio practice, which was indicated by the scarcity of artworks that combine glass and ceramics, only forty-three artists were found that work or have worked in both materials. Before this research project was carried out, there were significant gaps in the existing knowledge, understanding and practice of combining glass and ceramics in a hot state within studio practice. It was also evident that there was little literature directly related to the hot state combination of glass and ceramics. Problems relating to definition and theory, as well as practical processing techniques; demonstrated a need to enhance studio practice within this specialist field. The main practical disadvantages associated with the combined processing of glass and ceramics in a hot state, are:• The structural differences of glass and ceramics related to their varying rates of expansion which creates incompatibility, in the form of excessive cracks/stresses in the combined body.• The difficulty of controlling the process of partial conversion of either material into the other which would involve high refractory temperatures and specialised equipment.It was established that many artists avoid these issues by combining the two materials in a cold state by gluing or juxtaposing them to create a perceived fit. It was the goal of this research project to address and challenge this way of working by purposefully combining the two materials in a hot state and by making technical and visual improvements, in order to aid new insights into this artistic approach. In summary, this paper will introduce the creative possibilities of the hot state combination of glass and ceramics in studio practice. It will discuss the research that has been carried out as well as future research, which has since developed from this project. This paper will show that the hot state combination of glass and ceramics is an active subject of interest within the field of studio glass and ceramics with further research possibilities to be studied. The future of combining glass and ceramics in studio practice can be further advanced and made accessible to wider audiences, thus improving creativity and promoting knowledge transfer within and beyond the field. Additionally, the wide reaching range of benefits that others in the field may find interesting and of benefit to their practice will be set out, which could be extended to wider audiences such as designers, architects and suppliers who may be interested in this new material that combines both glass and ceramics in a hot state to create unique visual qualities
The hot state combination of glass and ceramics in artistic studio practice
No full textIn 2009, Jessamy Kelly completed her practice-led PhD at the University of Sunderland which investigated the feasibility of combining glass and ceramics in a hot state in studio practice. She will present the results of her research at the GLASSAC 2011 Conference. The starting point for this research project was to develop a model for others in the field that would expand the creative potential of combining glass and ceramics in studio practice. Glass and ceramics are generally viewed by craft practitioners as two separate disciplines, which are rarely combined in studio practice as most practitioners prefer to focus on just one discipline. A small number of artists have been found that work in both glass and ceramics, however, it became apparent that their results were not always successful as incompatibility in the materials surfaces were visible in the form of stresses and cracks. The majority of artists who combine glass and ceramics do so in a cold state to avoid these compatibility issues. It was also evident that glass and ceramics were not often combined in studio practice, which was indicated by the scarcity of artworks that combine glass and ceramics, only forty-three artists were found that work or have worked in both materials. Before this research project was carried out, there were significant gaps in the existing knowledge, understanding and practice of combining glass and ceramics in a hot state within studio practice. It was also evident that there was little literature directly related to the hot state combination of glass and ceramics. Problems relating to definition and theory, as well as practical processing techniques; demonstrated a need to enhance studio practice within this specialist field. The main practical disadvantages associated with the combined processing of glass and ceramics in a hot state, are:• The structural differences of glass and ceramics related to their varying rates of expansion which creates incompatibility, in the form of excessive cracks/stresses in the combined body.• The difficulty of controlling the process of partial conversion of either material into the other which would involve high refractory temperatures and specialised equipment.It was established that many artists avoid these issues by combining the two materials in a cold state by gluing or juxtaposing them to create a perceived fit. It was the goal of this research project to address and challenge this way of working by purposefully combining the two materials in a hot state and by making technical and visual improvements, in order to aid new insights into this artistic approach. In summary, this paper will introduce the creative possibilities of the hot state combination of glass and ceramics in studio practice. It will discuss the research that has been carried out as well as future research, which has since developed from this project. This paper will show that the hot state combination of glass and ceramics is an active subject of interest within the field of studio glass and ceramics with further research possibilities to be studied. The future of combining glass and ceramics in studio practice can be further advanced and made accessible to wider audiences, thus improving creativity and promoting knowledge transfer within and beyond the field. Additionally, the wide reaching range of benefits that others in the field may find interesting and of benefit to their practice will be set out, which could be extended to wider audiences such as designers, architects and suppliers who may be interested in this new material that combines both glass and ceramics in a hot state to create unique visual qualities
Imitate
Get PDFImitate is a body of twelve glass works that was exhibited at the exhibition Like a Rolling Stone which opened at the Museum Reich der Kristalle, as part of the Schmuck International Jewellery Fair, Munich (2017). The exhibition toured to Edinburgh, Scotland (2018) and Padua, Italy (2020). Imitate interrogates the capacity of glass to act as a medium of imitation. It experiments with the way glass can imitate materials and media including ceramic, paper, metal, wood, stone, plastic and semi-precious stones. Kelly situates this research in a lineage dating back to the 12th century, when Venetian glassmakers used imitative techniques to imitate semi-precious stones. She extends this historical method as a living mode of inquiry and experimentation, bringing new dimensions to the contemporary practice of glass
Imitate: Remediating Glass as an Artistic Medium for Material Imitation
Get PDFGlass has a unique ability to imitate other materials; cross-pollinating with other disciplines to refresh and recreate itself. The creative possibilities of creating glass that imitates other materials such as ceramic, paper, metal, wood, stone, plastic and semi-precious stones are vast. The assertion of this paper is that the use of imitation is a necessary and definitive act within creative artistic practice. Following a range of historical examples to set the context for this article, a range of contemporary glass artists that use glass as a medium for imitation will be introduced and documented through a series of artists case studies. Finally, I will present my current practice-based research into glass as a medium for imitation. I will discuss the material testing and research that has been carried out and introduce two new bodies of artworks that I have developed based on the theme of glass as an artistic medium for material imitation
Association in Creative Idea Generation: a black box dissertation staged in lyric inquiry and glass concepts
Get PDFThe central argument of this thesis is two-fold: that association, in various modes, is one key to creative ideation; and that using a lyric inquiry with modes of association can aid in generating ideas for creative practice. I identify and explore these critical elements of the creative process using practice-based research revisited through a scholartistry angle (Elkins 2005, Knowles, Promislow, and Cole 2008, Neilsen 2002), aiming to facilitate idea generation for myself and university-level, student artists and designers. I focus on the liminal period of ideation, just before an idea for studio is fully formed. Throughout the thesis, I use traditional, academic text juxtaposed with lyric writing to present my research, staged in ‘glass’ (the concepts, material, hotshop, and history) because glass is unique in its contribution to human creativity, ideas, and innovation. Through my writing, I describe creativity research and theories, while simultaneously practicing the theories to investigate ideation and offer an inclusive, accessible approach to glass as a creative medium. My literature review reveals that modes of association (named differently in different fields) are present in critical studies and theories of creativity, ideation, and innovation across disciplines as diverse as psychology, advertising, business, and mathematics. I reposition theories such as Mednick’s remote associates (1962), Koestler’s ‘bisociation’ (1964), de Bono’s ‘lateral thinking’ (1977), Johansson’s intersections (2004), and Johnson’s ‘adjacent possible’ and ‘exaptation’ (2010), tying them together and tracing them to Wallas’ The Art of Thought and his theories of association in the creative ideation process (1926). I discuss how these theories and associative modes operate in early creative ideation and highlight how words and relationship awareness can be critical to idea formation. My practice-based research puts association theories into practice, supporting them, while also adding a new contribution: evidence showing the usefulness of lyric inquiry to idea generation. I embrace ‘lyric philosophy’ (Zwicky 2014), follow ‘scholartistry’—a fusion of artistic inquiry and scholarship (Knowles, Promislow, and Cole 2008), and attend to creativity from a ‘meta-creativity’ approach (Runco 2015). By examining creative ideation from my practitioner’s lens, I offer a shifted perspective for creativity research, conducted most often from non-practitioner viewpoints observing creatives. My creative outputs are incorporated within this written thesis, supporting my dissertation writing as primary sources of information: ‘Word Triangulation’ (a new ideation tool with positive trial results), a glass reading aid, lyric texts, and a book of ideas. Designed as an artist’s book, my dissertation itself is a creative output, challenging the traditional thesis writing form and demonstrating a creative process. I offer it as a work of glass
