Planet Earth Catalogue

Artist, pioneer, mentor, Peter Layton is one of the founding fathers of British studio glass. He discovered the artform while teaching ceramics in the US in the mid 1960s, and has played a major part in elevating glass from a material for industrial purposes to a highly collectable artform. Most importantly, he helped to give it a home in the UK. 

Amanda Simmons has worked with glass for the past twenty years after a previous career in engineering and medicine. She graduated from London’s Central St Martins School of Art & Design with Distinction after studying for a Postgraduate Certificate in Glass & Architecture. She is now based in Dumfries & Galloway, Scotland where she conducts a variety of online glass teaching courses.

With a deep-rooted connection to the natural world, Andrea’s work reflects a harmonious blend of scientific inquiry and artistic craftsmanship. Her pieces have garnered international acclaim, showcased in prestigious exhibitions such as Collect Open 2024, The British Glass Biennale 2024, and the Ireland Glass Biennale 2023. 

As a 2023 QEST Scholar and a recipient of numerous awards from the Arts Council of Northern Ireland, Andrea's dedication to her craft has been recognised and celebrated. Alongside her artistic pursuits, she shares her expertise through teaching engagements at glass schools and private studios across the UK, Europe, and the USA, offering workshops, classes, and immersive experiences.

Bruce Marks was bitten by the glass bug when he first discovered lampworking. Intent on becoming a glassblower, Bruce introduced himself to Peter Layton in 2001 and spent a number of years assisting in the London Glassblowing studio. Since then, he has completed a Masters degree in Glass from the University of Creative Arts and has become Peter’s principal colourist and Studio Manager.    

Catherine Dunstan is an experimental kiln-formed glass artist based in Bristol, known for creating glass sculptures featuring her signature 3D kaleidoscopic patterns. A recent MA graduate from the University for the Creative Arts in 2021, her graduate work has already received commendation from the Contemporary Glass Society. In 2023, she was awarded funding from QEST to further develop her artistic practice. 

Originally working as a designer and with a degree in Graphic Design, Cathryn’s move to the USA in 2001 prompted her to pursue a new and exciting creative direction. Here she was introduced to and studied Stained Glass and, continuing to explore the medium in 2004, Cathryn became a student of blown glass with Peter Layton while also experimenting with the possibilities of kilnformed glass. She worked as the curator of the Gallery at London Glassblowing from 2010-2019 and is recommended by the Homo Faber Guide.

Claire Hall is a glass artist and educator working from her studio in North Somerset. Her artwork is exhibited internationally and throughout the UK, residing in many public and private collections, and has been selected for the three most recent British Glass Biennales. Her practice delves into the duality of material and mind, abstractly capturing memories, experiences, and sensations.

Celia Dowson is a London based artist specialising in ceramics and cast glass. She has received several awards including a Bullseye Glass Award in 2022 and 2023, The Wallpaper* Design Award in 2020 and was most recently acquired by the Victoria & Albert Museum, London. Her work is exhibited internationally and is notably included in two other museum collections, Bullseye Projects, USA, and the New Taipei City Yingge Ceramic Museum, Taiwan. 

Internationally regarded as a pioneer in the field of kiln cast glass, Colin Reid is widely considered to be one of the most important sculptors working in glass today. His artworks are represented in sixty museum collections worldwide and he has undertaken many public and private commissions. Based in his Gloucestershire studio, Colin has developed the expertise and facilities to handle a variety of mixed-media and glass commissions.

Davide Penso’s career began working as a photographer, but as a Venetian-born resident of Murano it was inevitable that he was captivated by the world of glass. Since 1992, his primary motivation has been to create beautiful glass jewellery and sculptures, using flame-worked techniques. Alongside this, he also runs the Murano Glass Academy, inspiring people to learn the traditional techniques of glass bead making.

Deborah Timperley has been working with glass for twenty-five years, specialising in cast glass. Her artworks reflect a connection between the material and its concept, strongly emulating a sense of place. Based in a rural studio in Haywards Heath, she has created artworks which have been showcased in prestigious exhibitions across Europe, including the British Glass Biennale. 

Jane Reeves graduated from Bath Academy of Art in 1987 and initially pursued a career in theatre publishing and illustration. In more recent years, Jane has shifted her focus to painting and has developed a unique technique that combines her passions for painting and glass. Using glass powders applied in a painterly manner, Jane creates her artworks, which are then fused together with enamel paints in the kiln. 

Kate Jones trained in painting and spent a year at the International Glass Centre in Brierley Hill, Dudley. There, she learned to adapt her visual skills to the design and decoration of glass. By the end of that year, she was fully converted to glass as a medium and excited by the opportunities it offered for self-expression.

Katherine Huskie is a glass blower and neon artist based in Wiltshire, UK. Huskie has worked in glass for over a decade and specialises in free blown glass art which has aspects of functional beauty mixed with her creative and sculptural aesthetics. Huskie has won numerous awards and scholarships including becoming a QEST Scholar in 2020 and being the Wimbledon Championship Artist in 2018. Huskie is a Visiting Enterprise Fellow for The University of Sunderland and in this 3 year position she takes time to visit and inspire the next generation of glass makers.

Kate Pasvol is a glass artist working in North London with her roots in Wales. Originally an architect and teacher, she now works on her glass sculptures in her studio. As a keen walker her work is predominantly related to landscape, referencing the areas she has explored. Her work has been accepted into the prestigious British Glass Biennale and in 2019 she was awarded the Warm Glass People’s Prize.

Layne was a long-standing resident artist at London Glassblowing before establishing his own studio in Hertfordshire, where he currently works. Initially driven by technique and a desire to create beauty, his early focus centred on patterns and colour applications. Although this remains a core motivation, Layne has also expanded his practice to create works imbued with distinct meanings or powerful messages.

Monette Larson's glass artwork examines the concept of natural beauty, expressing the idea that our perception of nature's attractiveness links to an innate recognition of its underlying patterns and structures. She looks to molecular structures, nanoscale details, and natural mathematics as foundations.

With a glass art degree from Denmark's Royal Academy and an MA from London's RCA, Larson has exhibited internationally, holding works in permanent collections worldwide. Her art celebrates nature's complex beauty through structural investigations.

Nancy is an engraver and gilder based in rural Herefordshire. She holds an honours degree in Design, specialising in medical and scientific illustration. Nancy's work is exhibited internationally and featured in private and public collections across the UK, Europe, and the USA.

She has taught engraving workshops in the UK, Germany, Sweden, and the USA. Nancy is a member of the Glass Engraving Network, an international organisation promoting excellence in glass engraving. She has participated in their group exhibitions at major glass museums and galleries throughout Europe.

Nina Casson McGarva grew up in rural central France in the middle of the Burgundy countryside. Originally from a family of maker’s who used to make crafts and art work with clay, textiles, wood and metal. Growing up in an environment of nature and craft has definitely influenced her life and artwork so far. Nina started learning the basic technical skills of glassblowing in 2007 in the National French Glass school in Yzeure, then at The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts on Bornholm where she started to use other glass techniques, such as kiln casting and fusing to then start experimenting and combining several techniques.

Olga Alianova is an internationally renowned glass artist and designer. Her career took root in 2010 in her native St. Petersburg, Russia, and then studied with masters of glass in Murano. Today, Olga’s works are exhibited globally and sought after by discerning collectors and fashion-forward individuals alike.

Rachel studied Architectural Glass at Edinburgh College of Art, graduating in 2007. She established her own kiln-forming studio and continues to explore this material with growing curiosity. Rachel has exhibited in group shows worldwide, including the British Glass Biennale and The Coburg Glass Prize. Her representational work thrives on the technical challenges of capturing exact details in glass, with the troubleshooting process keeping her engaged. Through this precision, she explores contrasting concepts of fragility within herself and the natural world around us.

Ruth Shelley is an internationally acclaimed glass artist known for her vivid and colourful creations. With over 25 years of experience in kilnformed glass, she employs gravity to slump her designs, resulting in organic shapes and objects. A keen focus on the reflection and refraction of light on glass adds depth to her work, creating a captivating interplay of light, form, pattern, and colour. Ruth’s talent has garnered numerous accolades, including the prestigious ‘Glass Sellers’ Award at the Glass Biennale in 2015 and multiple awards from the Welsh Arts Council.

Sabrina Cant received her BA in Ceramics and Glass from Buckinghamshire College in 1999. In 2004, upon earning her MA from The Royal College of Art, her graduating piece won the Bombay Sapphire New Designers Prize. This early recognition facilitated international exhibitions through the Bombay Sapphire Prize and BIGG (Breakthrough Ideas In Global Glass). Cant's innovative works have gained global acclaim, establishing her as a rising contemporary glass artist.

Cathryn Shilling and Anthony Scala have collaborated for years. Cathryn masters fused glass with bold, expressive designs, while Anthony specialises in intricate cut and polished forms. Together, they create art that seamlessly blends their unique styles and showcases their innovative approach.

Stephen Foster studied glass at Birmingham's Ceramics and Glass BA program and the International Glass Centre. He has created numerous commissioned sculptural and functional glass pieces. In 2001, he received the Broadfield House Glass Museum scholarship, becoming the first awarded an extended second year to perfect his trademark surface techniques. Alongside his innovative contemporary hand-blown glass creations, Foster teaches glassblowing at Dudley College.

Tim Rawlinson is an internationally renowned glass artist whose work has been featured in major European exhibitions and leading American galleries. His artworks converge light, glass, and creativity to evoke fascination, pushing boundaries and inviting viewers to contemplate light's ethereal nature.

Rawlinson creates highly polished glass surfaces to manipulate the enchanting interplay between the material and light, making this dance the driving force behind his expression. Recent experiments with reactive pigments and powders infuse his works with a painterly texture. Inspired by 1960s liquid light projections, he employs glass powders to create dynamic colour movements, distorting the hues and textures within his work.

Verity combines various techniques; casting, pâte de verre, kiln forming, painting, etching, and incorporating natural materials to create her organic vessels and sculptures. Inspired by plants and organisms, she explores magical realism by crafting imaginative forms that blend different natural elements.