Amanda Simmons

More Images »

Amanda makes kiln formed and cameo engraved glass vessels from her studio in Corsock. She is fascinated in the forms created by gravity within the kiln, the vessels becoming more complex as she perfects the slumping method. She has worked with glass for the past 9 years, studying Glass & Architecture at Central St Martin’s School of Art & Design in London, graduating with Distinction, before re-locating to Dumfries & Galloway in 2005.

She combines these techniques with her interest in making marks in glass with diamond point engraving and a diamond wheel lathe. Her work involves many processes of firing glass in a range of electric kilns coldworking (working with diamond tools to shape and smooth) and sandblasting.

She is motivated by many everyday themes such as love, baking and the rugged landscape of Dumfries and Galloway, but also draws on her biomedical sciences past life in the form of toxic botanicals and therapeutic drugs. Amanda is currently working on research gained from a residency at North Lands Creative Glass, nr Wick and expanding her repertoire of forms in glass with handmade suspension moulds. This work will be realised during a selected placement at the National Glass Centre (University of Sunderland) in spring 2012.

She exhibited at the Crafts Council show for contemporary applied arts, COLLECT 2011 with Craftscotland and has since become a member of Contemporary Applied Arts in London. A winner of the Gold Award for Innovation, Creativity and potential to export at Origin 2010, she has just returned from a research trip to investigate the applied arts market on the East and West coast of USA funded by the Crafts Council and UK Trade & Investment.

A keen supporter of the contemporary craft scene, she has been selected to become the Creative Business Advisor (for Crafts) by Dumfries & Galloway Council, to stimulate, strengthen and support the creative industries sector across the region. Currently, Amanda is the Press & Print Officer at The Scottish Glass Society.