In May 2023 when exhibiting at the Melbourne Design Fair, I met Aimee Frodsham, Artistic Director of the Canberra Glassworks. I am always keen to try a new medium [almost to a fault ] and talked to Aimee about working together to make a glass version of my ceramic Penny Vase.

Later, in September, I was wandering through the Wallace Collection in London when I happened upon a 600-year-old Venetian goblet which I thought to be a deeply beautiful ceramic— only to discover it was glass. I was drawn to the opaque quality and the swirly pattern and saw this as a perfect starting point for my venture into the realm of glass.

The Penny Vase is a tribute to my late, great friend, Penny Galwey, and her Libran love of history, abundance, and beauty. So Venice circa 1500AD seemed a good starting place.

At the Glassworks in Canberra, I have been working with Tom Rowney, one of Australia's most accomplished glass blowers. Much of his practice has been based on learning, refining, and adapting Venetian glass blowing. The sheer effort involved in the glassblowing process is daunting… like running a marathon, each piece is a physical journey. There is a seeming magic too in the metamorphosis. Slowly the Penny found her new form characterized in a curvier expression, exaggerated and defined.

My work with Canberra Glassworks continues to evolve and I will be exhibiting with them in January 2025.

For sales information and a catalogue of available works please email info@martynthompsonstudio.com