during childhood visits to Finnish glass factories and Italian studios in Murano, i was fascinated by the elemental properties of glass; fire, air, water and earth, the danger and malleability of molten glass and the mesmerising transparency, reflections and refractions in the finished pieces

at age 50 i elected to leave a more certain career as an epidemiologist biostatistician in academia in South Africa and create art full time.  
first i painted portraits of friends and of musicians using abstractions of random and organised patterns shining through their transparent skins to reflect how i see creative minds working

a glass blowing course at Kosta Boda in Sweden showed me how difficult, but not impossible, it is to work with hot glass…

in the summer of 2019 i shadowed Kaapo Lahdesmaki from Lasismi in Riihimaki Finland - during this time i was inspired watching the conceptions of a number of the most eminent glass artists and designers working in Finland come to life

i set up a hot glass studio within the Cape Glass Studio where Nelius Britz gave me much encouragement.  since then i explored kiln-casting, fusion, slumping as well as glass blowing and sand casting

as access to the studio was restricted as a result of the coronavirus pandemic lockdowns in South Africa, i began exploring drawing and painting again.  interupted power supply halted progress in the hotshop completely so in 2021 i moved to Finland to learn glass blowing at Nuutajäarvi glass school

the choreography between assistants, the gaffer and the glowing material moving at the end of a hollow pipe remind me of my training as a latin dance teacher 

science and mathematics, combined with my piano studies, the harmonies and patterns in nature, as well as in music are sources of inspiration. this background remains essential to my attempt to innovate in the making of interesting art