About

Philip’s exposure to glass began in the mid 80’s, when he undertook a project in copper foil as part of his matriculation art project. In 1997, he enrolled at Monash University’s undergraduate degree, majoring in hot glass. Graduating with honors in 2001. He established the first privately owned access facility in Melbourne for hot glass and cold work in 2002 & developed his own art practice simultaneously. The studio was situated in three different locations in inner city Melbourne for over 13 years. Him and his husband moved across the ditch in 2016. He now works from New Zealand Glassworks in Whanganui, where he continues to make his own work, mentor students & Gaffer for various artists and designers.

Murray is a life long supporter of NZ glass.

Emma has been working in glass in NZ since 1991. She is the co-owner of Melt45, who are the distributors of Gaffer Glass to Australasia. She is a Full-time glass caster, who lives in Whanganui (the glass city of NZ). Where her and her partner David Murray run their practice from the old masonic. Emma’s work is included in the collections of Te Papa & the Auckland Museum, as well and many others around the world. We are very excited to have Emma leading the team!

Vicki Fanning is a ceramist and glass artist from Matakana. She has been working with Glass since 2001 where she studied at Whanganui Ucol. She is known for her flameworking sculptures based on various inherit qualities of glass. But is now focusing on lead lighting, and the ability glass has to carry a message to the masses.
Although she has been remotely involved in NZSAG in the past, she is now delighted to be involved with the current committee.

@frolicceramics @vickifanningglassnz

Thomas Barter graduated with a BFA from CSU Humboldt in 1988. He had been working since then as a professional artist specializing in hand made ceramic murals and ceramic sculpture. Upon graduation he spent 6 months at the Moravian pottery and tile works as an artist in residence. Here he learned the art of handmaking tiles. With an interest in installations and site-specific artwork he started to combine tile making into larger site specific works.

Over the last twenty years Thomas has completed dozens of public commissions as well as many private works. He has also been active in teaching and currently is the Visual Arts Teacher at Saint Kentigern Boys’ school.

Thomas started his career in Sacramento California and made several pieces for the city of Sacramento. He then moved to southern California. His works in the Los Angeles area include two tile fountains for the Municipal Water District of Southern California at Union Station in LA, as well as murals, facades, and sculptures for the city of Long Beach.

Thomas moved to New Zealand with his family in 2003 where he still resides. He has made and installed several artworks around Auckland City. And continues to make and install new works regularly. In 2010 Thomas took a class in glass casting. This changed the direction of his practice to away from Ceramics to glass

Thomas’s first works in glass were mostly flat back castings that were like his tile work at the time. He, however, was also interested in how to make some simple 3D forms. Part of his ceramic expertise is mold making so the transition into lost wax casting happened quickly. Thomas now almost exclusively uses cast glass as his medium of choice. 

Further to the development of origami objects he is working on a new direction involving the use of a repeated cast glass art deco element that are built into larger glass objects. His studio is in Auckland New Zealand and is happy to have visitors and give tours of his premises.

Chinese New Zealand cast glass objects, telling stories of her heritage using glass as a metaphor to throw light to her themes in this area.

Drawing on her life and work experience from growing up in Gisborne to practicing Buddhism and visualising a peaceful world; Susan creates glass pieces (taonga) that are meaningful, accessible and culturally reflective from her own perspective. In addition to working in her own practice, she collaborates with others, currently, the Kohatu Marama Collaborative and and in demand to share her passion to create through teaching art glass casting workshops. Her work is sold in New Zealand and internationally with private collections in USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand. Public collection at Tairawhiti Museum, Gisborne, New Zealand.

She also creates glass art to raise funds for mental health and the prevention of youth suicide in New Zealand; raise awareness of her chosen medium for world peace and humanity through creating glass art to encourage heart-to-heart bonds for all people, and to empower each individual to engage in heart-to-heart dialogue with proceeds going to charities of choice (Smiley Campaign and a Buddhist organisation), and building on new works for the near future, representing her life as a Chinese New Zealand and once Office Professional, using glass as the metaphor for the light within.