Julia Linstead

I set up my business in 1989 after completing my B.A. in Glass and Ceramics at Sunderland Poly.
We re-located to the Scottish Borders in 1993 setting up an open workshop in The Hirsel Country Park.

All my work is hand blown in 24% lead crystal. I design the shape I want, and a glassblower then starts with a core of molten, concentrated coloured crystal on the blowing iron into which she blows a bubble of air. This core is then evenly dipped into molten clear crystal and the bubble is blown bigger and shaped by hand to form the bowl. This produces a crystal bowl with a very thin skin of colour on one surface (usually the inside).

It is this surface which, once cold, I mask off, covering it with p.v.c. tape, and hand draw the pattern onto it. I can then follow the outlines off the pattern with a knife and peel off one tiny shape from the mask to reveal the coloured surface of the glass beneath. I can then sandblast the colour off the bowl. The plastic left on the bowl stops me from sandblasting the bowl anywhere I don't want to and by experience I have learnt how long to sand blast in order to take off the colour to the degree I need for the pattern. I then dust off any excess abrasive, replace the piece of sticky backed plastic, peel the adjacent piece off and sand blast again, repeating this for every shape within the design.

I can sandblast the glass to different depths to create different shades, the longer I sandblast more of the coloured surface of the glass is removed making the colour thinner and so lighter. I can blast all the colour off to make white lines or just lightly blast the surface. When I've got all the design into the surface, I take off any remaining plastic, which is where the glass needed to remain shiny, wash and sign the bowl and ship it out.
 
All my inspiration is drawn from nature; usually I will sketch from life until I am happy I know the subject. I then use these notes to produce a stylised design, which is applied to the glass. However I never draw the same pattern exactly the same twice and as time goes on I allow the pattern to evolve naturally by subtly changing it each time.