Jill Matthew
Jill Matthew - Fused Glass Artist
Cambridge, NZ
I began exploring my creative side in 2009 after a serious illness left me with a long recovery. I needed something to focus on, and leaving behind a career in nursing and management, I fell headlong into making warm glass art.
Kiln formed glass, is the heating of glass layers, powders, or shapes of glass in a kiln to many hundreds of degrees. The processes to produce one piece may involve several firings - many hours long each. I program the kiln to different schedules depending on the finish I want, the most common of which are: a full fuse, where the layers are heated to a smooth solid finish; a tack fuse where it is heated enough to stick to another layer, but only soften the edges slightly; or a slump which heats enough for the glass to sag into a shape or a mould. I use all these techniques to make my pieces. It is quite a science to to understand the different stages glass needs to go through when heating in the kiln to avoid 'thermal shock' where the glass can crack either in the kiln or even after it's fired.
Self taught to this point, I am learning new techniques all the time and loving the challenge. I find being an artist makes me look at ordinary things in a different way – to see if I can incorporate shapes and ideas into my designs. For example in my Native Impressions/Expressions pieces I use real New Zealand native leaves to leave the 'impression' in or on the glass – this idea was triggered by a walk in our Kiwi bush. I'm also keenly exploring turning leftover 'scrap' glass into striking art pieces, waste not, want not!
The more I learn the more passionate I become! From what started off as a boredom buster with a tiny microwave kiln has grown into a studio with two kilns and a few power tools! I love perfecting the techniques I learn, but become especially passionate when I come up with new ideas – and they work! I love my new 'job' and will never look back – talk about a silver lining!
