Who said being an artist is glamorous?

Who said being an artist is glamorous?
March 26 – April 18
Nathan Homestead

Opening: Thursday March 25th, 6-9pm

An exhibition of glass and photography opens at Nathan Homestead at the end of March. Designed to provide an insight into working with glass, ‘Who said being an artist is glamorous?’ documents the process of three Auckland artists as they work.

A collaboration between photographer Salvador Schwieters and glass artists Fiona Rennie-Schwieters, Frances Hanson and Isla Osborne, the exhibition is a thoughtful introduction to the art and science of glass. Opening on Thursday March 25th and running through to April 18th, ‘Who said being an artist is glamorous?’ juxtaposes sensitive photography with delicate and magical glass sketches, sculpture and jewellery.

Salvador’s beautiful and insightful photographs show these three artists in an entirely new light. They are relentless in their detail, observing not only the artists’ studios but also their process of making.

Auckland artist Fiona Rennie-Schwieters has been working with cast glass from her Grey Lynn studio since 2005. Her inspiration comes from a love and respect of the natural world. Fiona takes casts from fruits, flowers and seedpods then rearranges them to create new forms evoking underwater and alien worlds. The technique of casting glass engages her. She says “I’m in love with the alchemy of glass”. To create her sculptures, Fiona uses at least seven processes. She works with warm wax, plaster and glass; boiling, pouring, fettling, spruing, mould-making, steaming, filling, firing, cooling, releasing from the mould and finally grinding. “There is risk at every stage, it keeps you on your toes. The result is often awesome, sometimes not”

As a lampworker, Frances Hanson takes coloured glass rods imported from Italy, and using a high temperature torch melts them to make glass beads. She then cools the hot beads slowly in a kiln to ensure strength and durability. When the beads are finished, Frances fashions them into stunning pieces of jewellery, with individually crafted sterling silver links.

Isla Osborne, also a Grey Lynn artist, works in both fused and lampworked glass. Her jewellery is organic and earthy, using a torch to combine precious metals and molten glass, she creates beads that look as if they belong in an archeological dig rather than an art gallery.

In her panels, Isla mixes powdered glass into paint and fuses them in her kiln. Her work ‘Pieces of you’ is an installation fused glass portraits. Isla says “I recently discovered a box of old family photos and became interested, not only in visual similarities between generations, but the genetic continuity on which these are based”.

‘Who said being an artist is glamorous?’ Runs from March 26th through to April 18th at Nathan Homestead, 70 Hill Road, Manurewa and is open from 9-5 weekdays and 1-4 weekends. Please contact Nathan Homestead for more information on: 09 267 0180.