Vitreoprints
HOT GLASS MEETS FILM PHOTOGRAPHY
As an interdisciplinary artist I incorporate the glass I make in the hotshop in my darkroom processes. By utilizing the material qualities of glass – transparency, distortion, and refraction – I can create unique silver gelatin prints and cyanotypes that capture the sublime and the unseen. Due to the nature of my process, my “vitreos” are one of a kind pieces.
Early Achievement Award 2023
The Early Achievement Award is given in recognition of exceptional achievement as an emerging craftsperson in Alberta, Canada. Bi-annual juried award presented by the Alberta Craft Council.
Finalist: RBC Award for Glass 2024
(Prix du verre 2024)
The RBC Award for Glass is a national award for emerging glass artists working in blown, fused, or stained glass. Presented by RBC Emerging Artists and the Canadian Clay & Glass Gallery.
Wishing Wells - 2023
In “Wishing Wells”, I embed photographs of the Rocky Mountains directly on to the blown glass vessels using an experimental emulsion. Within these unique three-dimensional prints, the photograph is distorted through the curvature, texture, and thickness of the glass to create a surreal landscape that slowly fades away. This artwork will be exhibited as part of the “Emergence – RBC Award for Glass” 2024 exhibition at the Canadian Clay and Glass Gallery in Waterloo, ON.
Lost Series - 2021
“Lost Series” is a tryptich of Chinook Arches created using optical glass double-exposed onto photographs of the prairies at golden hour. The liminal cloud formations created represent my desire to recapture lost memories of growing up in Alberta. By combining photographs of places I miss with blown glass vessels, I recreate special moments in my life that have defined who I am today. Each photograph in this series is considered a "monoprint", as the relationship between the glass refracting each composition varies in the making process. This series was exhibited at the “Emerging Photographer’s Showcase” at Contemporary Calgary during Exposure Photography Festival 2022 and is currently on display at the Window Galleries at Arts Commons as part of the 2024 RBC Emerging Visual Artist Program.
Coordinates Series - 2022
A diptych of monoprints that explores the act of remembering as an action that enables a person to exist in both the present and the past at the same time. Blown optical glass becomes a veil over the landscape that blurs temporal and spatial dimensions. Within the composition, vertical and horizontal elements become metaphors for the axis of time and space. The intersection where the glass disrupts the composition creates a crossroads where the “then” and “now” meet. This series was exhibited at the “Coming Up Next” emerging craftsperson showcase in 2022 at the Alberta Craft Council.
Chinook Series - 2021
The "Chinook Series" envisions Chinook Arches in impossible locales: in the midst of the Rocky Mountains or facing East in the middle of the city. The Arches are remnants of mundane wonder, of finding joy in wasted time. They follow me no matter how far I travel, reminding me that I am still suspended between the past and the present, and still trying to reconcile with the past me that took these precious moments for granted. Created for the "Somewhere in Nowhere” exhibition at the Marion Nicoll Gallery from April-May 2021 and displayed at the Alberta Craft Council’s “Coming Up Next” exhibition 2021-2022.
BLOWING GLASS FOR THE DARKROOM
Each glass plate used in my vitreos starts as a mass of 1200 degree Celsius. After dipping a hollow steel pipe into a furnace of glass, I inflate a bubble and add optical texture. The piece has its axis switched so I can open the shape and spin it out into its final form. Hot-blown glass has to slowly cool to room temperature over a period of 12-18 hours. Afterward, it is polished and brought into the darkroom to create my signature vitreos.
Cyanotypes
Glass photograms
CADA North East Mini Galleries - Winston Heights
“Trials and Tribulations #1” playfully embraces mistakes within the glassmaking process and demonstrates how joy and inspiration can be found by working together as a community. This unique cyanotype print was made in collaboration with other Calgarian glass artists by collaging scrap glass found in their studios. Through this print, the artists embrace their mistakes and “failures,” finding comfort in knowing that we are all learning together as a community. This sentiment is at the heart of community building in Calgary and beyond. This piece is dedicated to the now closed Bee Kingdom Glass Studio in Mount Pleasant, where I first built their glass practice. On display at the Winston Heights/Mountview Community Center from July-October 2024.
Pyroprints
Burning prints with hot glass
Each "pyroprint" is created by cutting in a custom design into a glass cylinder, or "graal". The graal is then heated to 600 degrees celcius in the hotshop and rolled over a tabletop to permanently burn the print into the paper. Each graal makes a limited amount of prints since the design slowly melts back into the glass with each consecutive roll.
As Exhibited IN:
