bodner051

In my last two blogs I have talked about the late Keith Mahy, one of New Zealand's pioneer studio glass makers. Recently, since I was in the vicinity, I found out from friends where the site of Keith's second studio was, on the Pahi Peninsula in the Kaipara harbour.    I'm always keen to document former (as well as present) glass studios, so I made a visit and took some photos. The studio is, of course, empty of glass making equipment, now being used for storage by the current owners. Keith Mahy at work in his studio at Pahi Keith bought the land here in 1979, and built the house and studio , moving in with his family in 1980. They were here until he moved again, to Whāngārei, to take up a position as Tutor, Glass and Design at Northland Polytechnic

One of the great thrills of hunting for glass on internet auction website TradeMe is when you buy something you don't know what it is, but you have a hunch, and it turns out to be something quite special. Of course, there are also those occasions when the hunch proves to be wrong, and the piece turns out to be nothing, or something of no interest that I can't identify. Which is why I have a box of motley pieces ready to be donated to the Opp Shop... But here's one of the success stories. A chunky art glass goblet, the trader said, with GBC 1979 engraved on the base. No other clues as to its origin or the identity of the maker. The auction was set for bidding to start at $20, with no reserve price. I racked my brains to think who GBC might be, but to no avail.  There was a photo, which had hints of NZ glass - Keith Mahy seemed a possibility, but he clearly wasn't 'GBC'. The photo wasn't as clear as this one, which I took once the piece arrived, but it was g...

Lino Tagliapietra was born in Murano in 1934, and has a long career as a maestro in making glass.  Significantly, through his connection with Dale Chihuhly, he fostered the process of sharing the Muranesi glass making skills, until then closely guarded secrets, with the wider world.  Lino taught at Pilchuck in Washington in 1979, and undertook teaching, classes and demonstrations in many parts of the world. In 1990 Garry Nash and NZSAG arranged for Lino to give a masterclass at Garry's Sunbeam Glass studio in Ponsonby.  I was thrilled to have an opportunity to visit one of the sessions at Garry's invitation.  Lino made a number of pieces during his time here, and I was delighted recently to be able to add one of those to my collection after it was offered on TradeMe. This dolphin goblet is a classic example of Venetian glass making, but it is signed Lino Tagliapietra NZ 90.  It's made in clear glass, but the eyes are red murrini with white centres.  It's ju...

One of the pioneers of glass in New Zealand has died in Wairoa. James Walker graduated in commerce from the University of Michigan in 1971, then went to travel the world. He first came to New Zealand in 1974 to join his brother on a boat. He worked selling water beds in Auckland, and would go to Australia periodically to renew his tourist visa (he eventually got residency). James was interested in glass. He saw Dennis Prior selling leadlight lampshades at Cook St market. At John Barleycorn Gallery he saw some of John Croucher's early experiments in glass, made while John and Eric Ineson were working at Claude Neon. James first met John Croucher on the day in January 1976 that John signed the lease on the Sunbeam Glass studio in Jervois Rd, Auckland. James became a partner in Sunbeam (pictured at right in 2005). Lots of different types of glass were being made by a range of artists. James became increasingly focused on architectural glass, and after the first NZSAG community se...

At long last I have created the space to house and work on my collection. A new studio addition to my home provides space for the glass collection, and also makes my house more toddler - friendly, so it should be possible for those grandsons to visit. And it means I can show my collection to glass enthusiasts who may care to call. In moving the glass into its new home (a work in progress - the new shelving hasn't arrived yet), I have rediscovered some old friends, as well as getting a few surprises at pieces I had forgotten. The plan is that this will also result in more blogging, with these newly found old pieces to write about. I have better facilities for photography, too, so hopefully that will improve as well. So here as a teaser is a fairly remarkable piece, made in Taranaki in the 1980s. I'll tell you more about it in a future blog.