Jennie Speirs Grant
This area of my practice is concerned with autonomous sculptural works in kiln cast and hot glass, sometimes in combination with drawing and sometimes as component parts of conceptual installations. Most of my work is made by combining the advanced technical facilities of the hot shop and glass making at the National Glass Centre with the slower and more meditative nature of the studio environment.
Processes include direct use of furnace glass, inclusions of confetti, powder and stringers made in the hotshop, selective polishing and abrading, pre treatment of individual elements prior to casting and use of several different glass types such as Gaffer Glass, Banas and an unusual Sunderland Glass that is now out of production. Each piece is therefore intrinsically unique and unrepeatable. Series of work that have emerged include the Stack Series and an ongoing engagement with Japanese Sumi Ink processes, developed through drawing and translated in glass.