Effie Burns

Glass sculptor | Whitby, United Kingdom

Enchanted by glass

Effie specialises in casting and engraving
Her work has been exhibited in the UK, France, Germany and Japan
She was selected for the Coburg Prize for Contemporary Glass

Effie Burns established her glass studio in 1999, and since then she has been concerned with glass and its ability to transform space. She works across a broad range of projects, both sculptural and in the public realm, always weaving something of her personal history into her pieces. In this way her work is an alternative biography told through sculptural objects. Collaboration has been an important part of Effie's practice and has led to the creation of films, gardens and even a mobile museum. She has especially enjoyed working with playwrights and poets on projects with New Writing North and the British Library.

Interview

©Julian Calder

What attracted you to work with glass?: As a child, I lived in a house with a stained glass window in the bathroom; it would often cast rainbows in my bathwater. Since then, I have been enchanted by glass and its possibilities. The polished glass houses in my sculptural pieces act like prisms which reflect my early fascination with glass.
When did you choose glass casting as a career?: During my BA in Glass and Ceramics Design and my MA in Art in Context at the University of Sunderland, I was taught by Zora Palová, who helped shape my passion for casting glass. Buying my first kiln in 1999 gave me the freedom to make whatever I wanted. It was a revelation and launched my career.
How do you combine traditional and contemporary techniques in your work?: My new work explores a blend of fairy tales and feminism. I like to combine traditional skills including casting and engraving with digital technology to create sculptural objects that are both familiar and delightfully strange.
Could your craft be considered endangered?: Engraving is a skill that has fallen out of fashion and many factories in Germany and the Czech Republic have closed down. Generations of knowledge is disappearing. I was fortunate in 2012 to be able to go to Bavaria to study with master engraver Katharine Coleman.

Effie Burns is a master artisan: she began her career in 1999 and she started teaching in 2000