Featured Artist: Katherine Lys

We farewell the lovely Katherine Lys, who is heading overseas to new adventures and unfortunately her beautiful, bright glass pieces are going along for the ride! So after getting a little insight into her work processes and inspiration below, make sure you pop in this month to check-out her work before they board for Canada!!

What got you started in making glass?

I come from quite an athletic background, so one of the things that drew me into hot glass making was how physical it is - between gathering, blowing, shaping, torching, marvering - it's very active and fast paces. I love the culture in most hot studios - of team work and energy.

What inspires you and your collection?

I've been able to do a lot of travelling during my 4 years in Australia, some of it very exciting and adventurous - but usually long bushwalks that let me see Australia up close at a slower pace. I see this reflect in my work when I turn to methodical processes such as wood carving and work back and forth between the glass and wood until they sit together just right.

How would you describe you aesthetic?

I generally use very bright, funky colour combinations and have a playful way of arranging objects.

Tell us a bit about your studio space...

The hot glass studio is always dirty, loud, sweaty and smelly, that's the nature of working in front of a 1100C furnace. All the equipment and tools are made of steel, so they are protected from the effects of the heat. It sounds like a recipe for burns, but they don't happen very often.

What's in store for you in Canada? Will you still be making?

When I get to Canada I'll be finding a new hot glass studio to rent out in Calgary and training a new assistant. I plan to make lots of my product ranges in the next few months and get the work into the galleries. After this, I will resume my exhibition work and participate in group exhibitions. Calgary is hosting the National Glass Conference in 2013, so I look forward to helping make that happen. I'd like to get into coldworking and kiln casting a bit more, so that I can be less reliant on hot glass facilities and run a studio independently, from our dream home out in the bushes!