Kirstie Rea

Glass sculptor | Queanbeyan, Australia

Gentle gestures of folded glass

Kirstie has been working with glass since the mid-1970s
She uses glass to invite a sense of wonder
Her ethereal pieces feature a fabric-like appearance in a multitude of soft hues

Kirstie Rea works with kiln-formed glass to make abstract objects inspired by the transcendental elements of nature and her surrounding locality. “The objects speak of the possibilities of both firm and fragile connections that we have to places,” she says. Kirstie learned her craft with German artisans Ludwig Schaffrath and Klaus Moje, and was initially inspired by Irish stained glass artists Harry Clarke and Evie Hone. She was also influenced by the 1981 New Glass: A Worldwide Survey exhibition at the V&A Museum in London. Currently, Kirstie’s objects take shape as folded sculptural forms achieved through multiple firings in a kiln, which continue to challenge and teach her.

Interview

©Adam McGrath

Where do you find inspiration for your sculptural glass objects?: I like to head outside, take a walk in my garden and wander to new places outside of the cities. I try to seek solitude and distance, photographing and field writing to record times spent in these places, which inspires and informs the studio making.
Does your garden play a role in your work?: The garden is an extension of my studio. I share this space with nature, in the company of seasons, weather and wildlife. It offers form, colour, line, energy and reward every day. I nurture seeds and plants as I nurture ideas in the studio. It grants important reminders of daily connections to our natural world.
How do your inspirations and processes come together?: My processes of working with glass and my inspirations are entwined. I gently fold glass forms, achieved through multiple firings in a kiln express. The process allows me to connect with the experience of my senses when I am in nature alongside the awe and surprise that is found there.
Does the process of making inform the final form's aesthetics?: The glass surfaces are achieved through various sandblasting and grinding techniques. This is where I can balance lightness, and the tactility of glass can be expressed through the subtlety of the folded forms.

Kirstie Rea is a master artisan: she began her career in 1976 and she started teaching in 1987