Katharine Coleman

Glass engraver

©Ester Segarra

A visual puzzle

Katharine’s first career was in historical geography
She was trained in glass engraving by Peter Dreiser
She received an MBE for glass engraving in 2009

Katharine was taking her small children to the Museum of Mankind, when she passed a gallery in Cork Street, where she saw contemporary engraving by Peter Dreiser and Alison Kinnaird. Immediately, she was captivated by the way light played in the glass so that one couldn’t tell where the engraving lay - an optical illusion. Shortly thereafter, Katharine quit her first career as a historical geographer at the University of London and studied glass engraving at Morley College. More than 30 years later, she’s now internationally recognised and has won several prizes, including an Honorable Mention Prize at Coburger Glaspreis in 2006 and the People’s Prize at the British Biennale 2015. She’s described by the V&A as perhaps the leading contemporary glass engraver working in Britain today.

Interview

What would be your advice to an aspiring glass engraver?: I would tell every young artisan that it is important to not compromise. Spend as much time as you can perfecting your skills and avoid working solely on other people’s designs. Instead, find a part time job to fund your self-exploration as an artist.
How long did it take for your craft to be financially viable?: I was only able to make work worth selling about five years after my graduation and I worked from a spare room in my home for many years after that. It always surprises people how long it takes to make a single piece - even with experience. And how difficult, important and expensive glassblowing is: every blank is blown to the artist’s own design.
What do you love most about your craft?: Never knowing how a piece will finally turn out. There is always that moment when you sit on the edge of the stool, when the overlay glass is thicker or thinner than expected, something that keeps you awake, adjusting to these natural variations. Combining tradition and innovation for me is the other fascination of my profession.
How do you fulfill that?: I express tradition by primarily using copper wheels with all my line cutting and innovation by using modern polpur (polypropylene charged with synthetic sand) for polishing. Regarding the design, I try to make objects using an ancient technique that will say more about life today, and not life before.

Katharine Coleman is a master artisan: she began her career in 1984 and she started teaching in 1992