Gail Turbutt
Having gained a BAhons in 3D design in Glass at Wolverhampton University, I embarked on a number of ventures, all looking to advance mould making and glass casting using Machine processes in Wolverhampton and Oxfordshire, until I joined forces with Amanda Brisbane at her glass studio in Ludlow in 2003, just 30 miles down the road from where I grew up in Herefordshire. In this partnership my love of problem solving was used to the full. The resulting process of sandcasting glass was pushed to its very limits, with Amanda Brisbane Glass Ltd duly becoming a worldwide name.
The years of working with glass across the globe; improving my abilities with moulds – creating textures and formers for mark making – ultimately enabled me to continue on to launch my own business. Leaving the hot glass studio industry and Amanda Brisbane Glass Ltd in 2016, I did so to bring long-term stability back to my studio environment and to my career. The Hot glass studio environment that I had known for 15years was changing, from access to batch glass on a small scale to furnace maintenance, it was a fast changing environment in those last few years that made our unique process more challenging every day.
Fully commiting to this change in direction, I bought a Kiln and went about the task of teaching myself to create glass, and rediscover my art style in the process. Immediately I was struck with the vast amount of waste and complexity of materials used. This rang alarm bells - Starting a new to be challenged again in 10 years when some raw materials dried up, or environmental consciousness changed to mean an ingredient was no longer viable, didn’t make sense. I felt that because I was at the beginning of my evolution into kiln casting glass this was the perfect opportunity to challenge myself. And I certainly did that. I decided to work within a very basic raw material list, 3 ingredients including water over 50% of which is rain harvested and I refused to accept masses of waste going to landfill.
Through several evolutions over the subsequent 6 years I have created a process that allows me to be as creative, fluid and organic in my design creation as before, and I have a wonderful semi-polished finish on the textured surface which has become an integral part of my designs.
I currently recycle 90% of any box casting moulds into loose beds of sieved media to allow me to create a form by pushing into this, much like the sandcasting process I had left behind. This media can be used repeatedly, meaning there is little to no waste heading to landfill. The reminder sits waiting for it’s call to arms in a couple of potato sacks, and it will be found a use I’m sure, somewhere down the line.
Now that I have created a process that I am happy with, I can begin to explore and harness the myriad effects available to me.
I combine colourations from my surroundings - a landscape broken down into colours, a petals distinct colour pallette - with forms provided by nature and the natural world. Each piece is a complete one-off due to the very nature of the making process; using the texture and relief allows me to harness the interaction of light on and in the glass, creating continuous intrigue within the piece as light levels change over the course of the day. With the glass melting differently every time creating natural variations … ensuring each piece will never be exactly the same.
Experience in glass
2017-current day – Gail Turbutt Glass
2003-16 – Director of Amanda Brisbane Glass Ltd
1999-00 – Mould Maker for Carl Nordbruch Glass blower c/0 Antique Glass repairer Basil Loveridge
1999-00 – Blowing assistant for Gill Mannings Cox
Galleries
Stourbridge Glass Museum, Wordsley
Synthesis Art, India
Bridgegate Gallery, Holt
Exhibitions
2022 – Alison Collins Memorial Exhibition,Majlis Gallery, Dubai
2022 – Glorious Glass, Aritzan Gallery, Torquay
2022 – Whispers from the past, CGS SGS, Glasgow/Inverness
2022 – Five x Five, Pyramid Gallery, York
2021 – A postcard from-CGS Online
2017 – Small gardens, Ludlow
2017 – Water & Music, Pyramid Gallery, York
2017 – Joint exhibition, Court Cupboard Gallery, Abergavenny
2016 – Winter Curiosities, Twenty-Twenty Gallery, Much Wenlock
2016 – Affordable Art Fair, Bridgegate Gallery, Battersea
2016 – European Show, Contemporary Glass Society, online
1999 – The Human Figure, Cecilia Coleman Gallery, London
1999 – Supercooled Liquid, Cork Street, London
Education
1996-99 – BA(Hons) 3D DESIGN in GLASS, University of Wolverhampton
1995-96 – BTEC NATIONAL DIPLOMA Foundation Studies in Art & Design, Herefordshire College of Art & Design