Karen has just finished a series called 7 pieces of Irish Craft, and I thought I might add to this with a selection of the artists who have applied for the Group blog.

Michael Ray’s unique fused glass pieces would really work well on a blog in my opinion. Michael who resides in Clonakilty in Cork, has won numerous awards for this work.

Here is his artists Statement:

I have been making things throughout my life.The art making process though for me, has been somethimg necessary, uncontrollable and the most important part of what makes me who I am. I became aware of the insistant creative drive when I discovered clay at school, while others were throwing it at each other I became immersed. My creativity is rooted in the tradition of Ceramic vessel making which I persued for 25 years; I also have a professional interest in psychology, which feeds into my work.

Ten years ago I discovered Glass it has offered me a method of transposing images from my inner world and providing a place for them to inhabit.The places I find in my drawings I bring into glass, resulting in spaces, fluid, dense and constructed - in multiple layers and numerous firings. My work is to be entered into, surrounded by and engaged with. I have transferred many ceramic skills and sense of aesthetic to working in glass, a necessity born out of my desire to explore the internal canvas of the containing space. From this has developed a body of work focusing on the contents of the material and of the aesthetic form containing it. By integrating a combination of technical and intuitive technologies I produce pieces made for contemplation. For me the work aims to embody some of the complexities inherent in contemporary culture. It offers a window into an inner world of constructed and deconstructed elements co existing with the interplay of light.

The functional qualities of my glass pieces although sculptural in appearance are firmly anchored in the vessel making tradition. By synthesising techniques of glass casting and fusing with the innovative use of ceramic materials, I have developed a personal language. I assemble individual elements which become suspended in a boundaried space, where the interplay of depth, light and colour create a three dimensional window. The glass object becomes a lens for viewing what is on the other side as well as within the work.

Michael Ray - Vessels, Sculpture, Jewellery, Lights and Architectural Work in Fused Glass

Tags: MichaelRay, fused glass, sculpture, irish, craft, irish craft