HISTORY
At Edinburgh College of Art, where I was a student intending to specialise in Graphic Design, there was a Glass Design Department. Curiosity got the better of me one day and I decided to try out glass as a secondary design subject. Ken Wainwright, the master glassmaker, showed me the furnace and how to gather the 'metal' - (molten glass). As my first attempt to do this flowed off the end of the iron and on to the floor, I realised that glassmaking was not going to be as easy as it looked, but knew right away that I had to learn it! ........... I'm still learning, more than 30 years later.
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Glass Sculpture 1974 |
Working with Andrew Scott 1976 |
After graduating at Edinburgh in 1974, I worked as a technician in the Glass Department until 1979. This was a great apprenticeship, helping to develop a variety of glass skills and build up a working knowledge of glass chemistry and furnaces. Then I moved to Paisley College of Technology and did a two-year research project on high purity luminescent glasses.
In 1981 I went back to Falkirk and set up my own studio, making air twist wineglasses, perfume bottles, paperweights, vases and bowls, trading as 'MacIntosh Glass'. A particular design feature of the product was the use of fine spiralling coloured canes. This is a Venetian technique called Vetro a Fili,(literally glass of threads), which I had learned at Edinburgh from Andrew Scott, a retired glassmaker from Edinburgh Crystal. The man who taught him had made Venetian style glass in the 1880's. at Edinburgh & Leith Flint Glassworks,( as it was then known).
Helix Scent bottles and paperweights
circa 1981
I joined the Caithness Glass Design team in 1987, based in Perth and made a contribution to design and development of paperweights in particular, as well as art-glass and corporate specials. These often consisted of exclusive designs for giftware or collectable items, and also trophies and awards for sport and business.
In 2003 I left Caithness Glass and now design and make glass under my own name. Glass is a remarkable material for any artist to work with. It can be incredibly strong and yet brittle. It has a clarity and beauty of its own. It has been a source of wonder and fascination to me for many years and I hope that it will give you insight and inspiration too.
