Glass Residency Reflection

Residency:

Valerie Olleon considers her time as Artist in Residence at the National Glass Centre, Sunderland, UK.

Prelude

Two six-week residencies at the National Glass Centre were advertised in Artist's Newsletter in 2001. At the time, I was preparing work for a Crafts Council Gallery exhibition, 'Solid Air - New work in Glass'. Glass artist, Emma Woffenden curated the exhibition, with the aim of redefining the current boundaries of glass practice in the UK, through profiling the work of four artists. Each approaching the material from a different perspective.

Based in London and working mainly in cast glass, I produce most of my models and moulds in my studio, but have no glass making equipment. As I was having difficulties locating local facilities to complete the work for 'Solid Air' the residency was a great opportunity at an opportune time.

The Package

The National Glass Centre provided accommodation, an artist fee and some money towards materials and travelling costs. On site, they offered access to the hot glass studio and cold workshop, backed up with the help and assistance from their studio team. I also had an office, with computer and Internet access, and another workshop/room, where I could build models and use the woodwork tools I had brought.

However, I ended up working mostly within the University of Sunderland's Glass and Ceramics studio's which are based in the National Glass Centre, and benefited from the help and advice of academic and technical staff alike. The University also has a brand new state of the art research studio that I was able to use.

In Practice

One of the most useful aspects of the residency was the freedom to work all times, with no restrictions or obligations. The purpose of the residency was "to give an artist time, space and facilities within which to develop their practice". Everything was made available for me to do just that. It was possible for me to work 7 days a week, as I would have done in my studio, but with better facilities, suport and space. This enabled me to concentrate fully on a body of work.

Obviously my experience with glass helped me get the best out of the residency. I identified my needs, developed a 'plan of action', and then worked independently to maximise the time.

Residency Outcomes

I cast six pieces in clear and opaque black. Four were exhibited in 'Solid Air'. The preliminary models were made from clay, wood and plaster. The pieces were kiln cast, ground and polished, mainly by hand. The last stages of the polishing process were completed with a hand held air tool, with attachments suitable for stone and glass. 
 

Recent Work

For the past few years, I have been working with reflective surfaces, using mostly cast and polished opaque black glass. The pieces are a cross between image and object. Vacant, they are seen as forms in their own right. Face on, they are spaces activated by the viewer's presence. There is a strong contrast between the density, the perceived weight of the objects on display and the lack of substance of the reflected image. This becomes the focal point of the piece as soon as a viewer is present.

A combination of clear and opaque black surfaces were used for the work exhibited in 'Solid Air'. The translucent areas let the gaze through; the reflective areas reflect the space and the viewer's image. This time, the objects are pared down, neutral. The emphasis is on the image, the view. All work is displayed at eye level.

In the Crafts Council's Gallery, two squares of polished black glass (concave and convex lenses) stood at opposite ends of a long narrow space. They combine to create a space where the viewer is under scrutiny. There is a pull between the two pieces. The time it takes to approach the work is important. I see it as a dramatic build-up. It also gradually brings the image into focus.

I used the architecture of the gallery to frame the work and emphasise its action. 'Viewfinder I' (convex) offers a still, classical "shot". 'Viewfinder II' (concave) picks up movement from the opposite end of the space. As the viewer gets nearer, the reversed image flickers and changes speed as it moves across the curved surface of the piece. Both black pieces reflect and frame the viewer's image. They bounce the viewer's gaze back. Elsewhere, 'Threshold', a clear oval piece, acts as a division in space; it congeals the space between here and there. It lets the gaze through but slows it down and creates distortion.

My starting point for this work was the classical analogy of a painting as a view through a window. The pieces reflected on the nature of that 'window' or 'screen', on the layers of 'looking' and the distance involved in the transaction between artist/subject/viewer/work.

'Solid Air - New Work in Glass' was shown at the Crafts Council Gallery from 11th April - 16th June 2002. The Crafts Council, 44a Pentonville Road, London, N1 9BY, has published a catalogue of the exhibition with articles by Louise Taylor, Emma Woffenden and Andrew Hewitt, as well as information about the four artists, and photographs of the work in situ. ISBN:1903713056.

Valerie Olleon was born in France and studied Glass at the Royal College of Art in London where she is now a visiting tutor.