Internationally acclaimed glass artist Charlie Macpherson creates elegant pieces of hand-blown contemporary glass for interiors and gardens, balancing the beautiful simplicity of his forms with a more complex use of texture, line and pattern.
Charlie takes inspiration from his surrounding environment and the stimulating and aesthetic nature of his work has led to pieces being included in public and private collections in Europe, America, Hong Kong, Australia and Canada.
Charlie says “I design work that invites the viewer to look closely at the intricate details, revealing more than at first glance. As a maker, I have learnt to work with the fluidity of the material, rather than force it in a direction it doesn’t want to go. This has led to solid glass forms, their fluidity and movement integral to the sculpting process.” Each piece is signed by Charlie, adding to their provenance and providing a reference for Collectors.
Charlie is based in Poundbury, an urban extension to the Dorset county town of Dorchester built on the principles of architecture and urban planning as advocated by The Prince of Wales in ‘A Vision of Britain’. The Prince of Wales has a keen interest in promoting handmade skills and visited Charlie’s studio in May 2016.
Charlie’s sculptures begin to take shape in the hot glass studio, using his skill and knowledge to manipulate the molten glass into the desired form using traditional blown glass techniques, building up layers of glass, trapping cane details between each gather creating a depth and thickness that is exposed during the polishing processes.
Once the hot processes are finished, the pieces are taken through various ‘cold’ processes – cutting, grinding, polishing, carving and creating textures to reveal intricate details, adding optical reflections and refractions to the thick polished surfaces.
Each project involves researching and developing ideas on paper before moving into the studio to develop these ideas into three-dimensional forms. Works are evaluated and developed further on paper before returning to practical development. This harmonious development between concept and material is integral to the process, working on the finer details of a design Charlie was featured in the Guardian Newspaper’s “Artisans” series where he explained that one of the motivating forces behind moving the business to Dorset was to push the boundaries of his work and become a “maker” rather than a “manager” of other people.
