Experimenting With Glass

For over a decade I have collected various off-cuts - severed discards from the making process. Not having the heart to throw them out, I kept the pieces that had resonance for me. Maybe it was the uniqueness of their colour, the shape, or patination.

After making this collection I now know my overarching attraction to them was the potential these off-cuts contained. Each unique piece had the DNA of the work they played an essential role in creating, a window to a memory of works long lost to a new home. Over time they became a focus for reflection, and in their current composition, a vehicle to explore an alternative language of form and colour interplay in a search for a more sustainable way of making.

Unlike my previous blown glass work that is made from scratch, here I found myself working with predetermined elements, beautiful fragments with their own history, dominated by their stark disposable utility. I found myself with the task of bringing these pieces together to create complete and exquisite objects. This was led by the use of low energy yet time consuming hand making processes; grinding, polishing and carving to perfection.

Each piece of the Ensemble Collection required its own unique solution to become fully resolved. A consistent thread in my practice is assembly, stacking and play, and that creativity follows through with this collection too, setting the stage for building exquisite objects.

Edmond Byrne

Explore Edmond’s beautifully crafted Ensemble collection below.