SUSAN NIXON

Sown, 2007
Kiln cast glass with slate and bronze


Photograph: Simon Bruntnell

With a background in giftware production, and running a hot glass studio based in Stourbridge, I designed and made blown and cold-worked glass pieces for galleries in the UK and the USA. Subsequently, I have specialized in the design and making of limited edition collections for commissioners such as the British Museum Company, the BBC and British Telecom. The aim is to develop the more personal and expressive side of my glasswork with the opportunity to develop work outside of the constraints of commercialism, supported in part, by awards from the Arts Council.

Inspired by travelling, my pieces moved away from the semi-functional nature of earlier, blown work and I began to explore cast glass techniques alongside combining glass with other materials. This body of work has been shown nationally at the International Festival of Glass, Stourbridge and at COLLECT 2006, Victoria and Albert Museum, London; and internationally at the Finnish Embassy and at the ‘Glass Artists Gallery’, Sydney, Australia.

The ‘Fragile Core’ Series examines issues of faith and trust. This body of work not only draws on visual inspiration gathered while traveling through China, but also from a more emotional base and a journey through experience. With a desire always to seek inspiration… to ‘feed’ our creative routes… this holds parallels with the need to be emotionally, physically and most challengingly, spiritually ‘fed’ and touched upon within ‘Series’.

Biography pdf

Susan Nixon filler

Selected Biography

2001 - present: Lecturer in Glass at Wolverhampton University.
2001: ‘Susan Nixon Design’ launched at new premises.
1997 - 2000: Began in business based at the Broadfield House Glass Museum, and the Redhouse Glassworks, Stourbridge.
1994 - 1997: University of Wolverhampton BA (hons) Glass.
2001: Freelance Designer for Dartington Crystal, new products launched in New York and Frankfurt, pieces remain in their collection.

AWARDS
2004 & 2005: Individual Development Award 2004/5.
Arts Council, developing cast glass.
2003, 2004 & 2005: Passport to Export. Trade Partners Funded to attend GAS Conference 2005 and research SOFA Chicago Fair 03.

SELECTED EXHIBITION & EVENTS
2006: British Glass Biennale, International Festival of Glass West Midlands UK.
2006: COLLECT, Victoria & Albert Museum, invited by Design Nation.
2005: ‘Origins’, Glass Artist Gallery, Sydney coinciding with GAS Conference ’05.
2005: Finnish Embassy, Creative Industries Showcase with Passport to Export Funding.
2003 & 2004: ‘10 Green Bottles’, Shipley Art Gallery. Curated by Dominic Fonde.
1999: New Glass Economy, Shanghai Touring Exhibition.

PUBLICATIONS
2006: British Glass Biennale (Catalogue and Cover), International Festival of Glass.
2003: Haiku and Glass, The Bowes Museum.
2002: ART Review, Objects of Desire, November 2002.
2002: Mitsukoshi International, Glass Art catalogue.
1999: ‘New Glass Economy’, Shanghai Exhibition.