Jessamy Kelly

I am a glass artist based in Edinburgh, I work mainly in kiln cast glass. I get excited by collaborations, materiality and making and I like to finding new ways of working with craft processes and materials. I am inspired by the qualities of glass as an artistic, sustainable craft material and its ability to imitate or intersect with other materials.

Q&A

Artist Statement

I am a glass artist and educator based in Edinburgh and I currently teach glass and craft studies at Edinburgh College of Art (ECA). I achieved my B.A. in Glass & Ceramics (2001) from the University of Sunderland, I was awarded my Master’s in Glass Design (2002) from Edinburgh College of Art, and my Ph.D. in Glass & Ceramics (2009) from the University of Sunderland. My master’s degree involved an Industrial placement at Edinburgh Crystal where I worked as an in-house glass designer until 2006. I have run my own studio glass business since graduating in 2001. My glass work has been exhibited widely throughout the UK as well as internationally throughout Europe and the United States. My research interests focus on materiality and making through material intersections, sustainable craft materials, new digital technologies and their relationship with analogue craft processes. My creative practice examines the qualities of glass as an artistic, sustainable material and its ability to imitate or intersect with other materials. I have collaborated on a number of interdisciplinary research projects and as a design facilitator and co-curator for museum-led design projects and exhibitions. I am the vice chair of the RAFT research group at ECA which explores the changing identity of craft practices and a Trustee of North Lands Creative and the Scottish Stained-Glass Trust.

What craft do you work with?

I got into glass through ceramics, I completed my foundation art studies at Newcastle College specialising in ceramics and got a place at the
University of Sunderland to study Glass & Ceramics. As soon as I tried glassblowing I was hooked. I’ve worked in glass for over 25 years now and I’ve worked with a range of glass and ceramic techniques, my favourite technique is two-fold mould making for my kiln cast glass work, which then needs to be coldworked using diamond wheel cutting.

What inspires you to work with this craft?

Glass is a difficult craft medium, it doesn’t always work out, but when you get it right and the work comes out better then expected that’s what inspires me. It is always slightly different, the way the glass flows and the colours mix, and then the way you can bring the light into the work through cold working it to finish is very inspiring. Glass matters to me because each time I come to it it changes, from when I heat it up from a liquid form to a solid, it goes through a unique process flowing and forming into the shapes I want. I have worked in glass for a long time, but I also work in ceramics, sometimes combining it with glass in a hot state.

How do you start your creative process?

I start my creative process usually with a site visit to a place, I am inspired by a range of natural landscapes be that coastal or mountainous. When I visit I draw, take samples of natural materials and make moulds of natural surfaces. I bring these back to studio and use them as starting points for my work to make models of what I have seen or felt. The modelling process involves three different ways, usually by creating either a model in wax or clay or by digitally modelling the form and 3D printing the models in PLA (a 3D printing material). The models are then lost-wax or lost PLA cast to create a mould which is then used for casting glass into. After kiln casting the glass, I finish the work using cold working techniques, I work on a diamond flat bed, a linisher (sanding belt), a diamond saw, polishing lathes and I cut the glass using diamond wheels, this finishing process reveals the transparent and translucent qualities of the glass. For me the research and the modelling is the most enjoyable part. Waiting for the final results is the hardest part and then seeing the final cast and knowing how much work is still left to do to finish it using the cold working techniques.

How would you best describe your workspace and what tools could you not do without?

I usually work from the mould making room at Edinburgh College of Art, there are large shared tables in the centre of the room with different equipment for mould making, a wax pot, a steaming area and a drying cabinet. There are large buckets and a range of mould making materials in large containers under the work surfaces. There is a large sink, with a special trap to stop the mould materials going down the drain and blocking the pipes. I put my models on the table and build a mould by hand, layering up the mould until it is big and strong enough to withstand a high firing in the kiln. The tools I could not do without are very simple, a bucket, a jug, a set of scales, a large bin and a wallpaper scraper, a wallpaper steamer and a kettle.

Are there new techniques you would like to try?

I have never tried out flameworked glass making before it about the only glass technique I haven’t tried, I just haven’t had the opportunity.

What have you learnt or the best advice you have received that you would like to share with fellow crafters?

Over the years I have learnt that failure is a natural part of the craft process, sometimes things don’t work and you have to learn from your mistakes – that would be my best advice. I have always wanted to collaborate with a jeweller, I feel like there is a lot of connections with glass cutting and gem setting as well as metal casting, I would love to learn more about the jewellery process. In terms of a dream professionally, it would be wonderful to make a commissioned piece for a high profile event or client.