The everyday cast in glass
- Colin produces cast glass sculptures that capture the beauty of landscapes
- He is a pioneer in the field of kiln glass casting
- Part of his creative process is to navigate the seas and observe land formations closely
When not sailing Scotland’s harsh waters or exploring the wilderness of the land, Colin Reid uses his skills to translate these landscapes into glass. Trained under Keith Cummings in Stourbridge, Colin is a pioneer of kiln cast glass. Beginning his journey at a time when there were few available resources for instruction, experimentation and discovery were the order of the day. When he starting out in the early 1980s, Colin built much of his studio equipment himself, while living and working in an artists’ community. "A far cry from the state of the art studio I work in today," he muses. Renowned globally, his masterful sculptures are featured in prestigious collections, including the Victoria and Albert Museum, Tokyo National Museum of Modern Art, and Corning Museum of Glass.
Interview
- How did you first encounter glass?
- When studying fine art at Central Saint Martins, I quickly realised it was not for me. Then I saw a Government training course in laboratory glass. I was curious and signed up. It was there I began to realise the creative potential of the material.
- Where do you find inspiration for your work?
- I am drawn to overlooked, or everyday elements of the landscape, using the qualities of glass to elevate these. An example is my recent work in the Hebrides in which I am casting rocks. Rocks are ubiquitous, grey, navigated around rather than looked at.
- What is special about working with cast glass?
- Objects undergo an alchemic transformation when translated into glass. The depth of my castings allows the viewer to see through the object from inside out, sifting their perspective of the object, and seeing it anew.
- What are your plans for the future?
- I am always exploring new ways of working. Recently, I started to collaborate with a sound artist on a new type of transformation in glass, to see how we can capture the transient nature of sound in a more permanent medium such as glass.
Colin Reid is a master artisan: he began his career in 1981 and he started teaching in 1999
Works
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Colin Reid
