Kiln It – Glass Festival is the first in a series of Material Laboratories that happen annually on the Factory floor at the NSF.
Material Laboratories is our new programmatic strand that focuses on specific material researches and medium specific practices through an intensified series of Masterclasses, workshops, lectures and open discussion.
In October 2022 we presented Kiln it – Glass Festival. This was a festival of glass and glass making that ran through October 2022 on the Factory Floor and on-line. The festival was made up of a series of 3 glass masterclasses, which happen as two-day workshops and 3 online lectures by internationally renowned glass artists.
A lecture with Matthew Szösz (USA)
Matthew Szösz is a practicing artist and educator known primarily for his inventive processes and innovative use of glass to explore the intersection of material, aesthetics, and the poetic.
A lecture with Sylvia Levenson (Arg/It)
Originally from Buenos Aires, Argentina, Silvia Levenson immigrated to Italy in 1981, during the “disappearances” of the Dirty War. In 2004, Levenson received the Rakow Commission Award from the Corning Museum of Glass in 2008 she was a shortlisted nominee for the Bombay Sapphire Prize and in 2016 she received The Glass in Venice Award from Istituto Veneto, Venice, Italy. Her work explores daily interpersonal relationships through installations and objects that state firmly what is usually felt or whispered.
A lecture with Alison Lowry (NI)
Alison Lowry is a glass artist living and working from her studio, ‘Schoolhouse Glass’ in Saintfield, Co. Down in Northern Ireland. She graduated, as a mature student, in 2009 from the Ulster University with a First Class Honours degree in Art and Design. Alison is interested in how objects tell stories. Objects- such as textiles- can have a personal resonance holding memory within them- the traces of the wearer, the maker and of the historical period they were created within.
Painted Glass workshop with Debbie Dawson
This two day masterclass explored experimental painting and mark making with oxide and enamel paints, and sandblasting on float glass to create a series of abstract images and expressive, gestural marks.
Pâte de Verre workshop with Sophie Longwill
In this two day masterclass students learned how to translate their ideas into paper-thin glass using methods inspired by the ancient technique of pâte de verre (glass paste), through experimentation with different tools and processes to add texture, pattern and surface details using finely ground glass powders to create unique and delicate artwork.
Glass Casting workshop with Eva Reddy
The workshop focused on the mould making process for open-face glass casts, programming and set up of the kiln, health and safety practices, the mould making process, clay sculpting, kiln set-up and clean up, and mould divestment.
