I am a female glass artist practising in Liverpool since 1999. One my earliest influences was my grandfather Heinrich Kübler, a visionary engineer and inventor.
In my early creative work I assisted in media production companies. I worked as a production co-ordinator in the music industry for three years. I was a PA, driver, location scout and co-ordinator. From this I went onto work for a video production company in Cologne and then moved to Hamburg to develop my passion for media and music production for myself. I attended an audio production course at SAE Hamburg and produced intense experimental sound collages with a DJ and a poet under the name ‘Aural Compound’. I applied to the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts for a BA (Hons) degree course in Performing Arts with specialisation in music production.
During my degree studies I became a proud mother to my son.
After my degree I started working at Arena Art and Design Association in Liverpool, UK. From being a producing artist I progressed to restructuring the entire management structure of an artists charity. I became a director / finance and development officer within six month and secured funding from the Arts Council, Liverpool City Council and private donors for several large exhibitions for the group to ensure the viability of the artists studio complex. I was part of the curating team for the Arena Biennial group show in 2006. During my time at Arena I prevented the closure of the Association by turning around a three week eviction order received by the landlord of the four storey listed tea warehouse building housing 43 artist studios at the time. I feel proud to have been able to ensure that the artists could continue their work by moving the group to new premises in the then still derelict Baltic Triangle area of Liverpool.
In 2004 I received funding of the ACID fund and produced twelve film night events presenting eccentric selections of art house and underground movies. One event featured a silent movie with live orchestration of the legendary harp player Stan Ambrose.
In 2007 I set up the web design LLP partnership ‘Fireboar’ with the animator Paul Braddick. We created flash based animated websites for illustrators and had large scale clients in the toy brand licensing area. I ran all aspects of management, accounts and customer communications as well as creative direction to all projects.
In 2008 I developed a graphical musical notation system in conjunction with my ex husband Chris Preston for a drumming teaching book for the community teaching organisation Beatlife. Published by Soar Valley Music Ltd and used in many classrooms to teach children samba rhythms.
From 2002 until 2011, I produced visuals and projection projects for events and artistic projects including visuals for big festival installations.
In early 2012 my artistic career changed direction as I trained as a Neon Art maker at Richard Wheater’s Neon Workshops in Wakefield. I had created my first neon art work by taking part in intensive neon art training ‘Cent ans de Neon’ in beautiful Paris. It was hosted by Neon Workshops and Lycée Dorian. Four days with four international teachers of neon Art, held in the year of the 100th anniversary and birthplace of the first neon sign.
It was a transformative year for my artistic career because I left the realms of the arts or arts facilitation to become a maker. I had found the material to express myself. Glass is emotional, sensitive and wild. I was extremely lucky to have then been offered a once in a life time chance to train with master scientific glassblower Paul LePinnet in England's chemical industry.
The training was also a management position to manage a busy long established scientific glassblowing workshop while learning how to make intricate scientific apparatuses for chemists and labs around the country. It was a hectic apprenticeship and it did not last long as the company decided to sell this part of their business onto a big glass company from York.
The ‘Radcliffe List of Endangered Crafts’ lists scientific glassblowing as endangered in the UK. The main issue affecting the viability of the craft is the fact that a fully skilled or competent scientific glassblower is becoming a rare thing as there are no longer any schools teaching scientific glassblowing in the UK. There is an enormous issue with dilution of skills. Skills within glass that I can only compare to pure wizardry. I have been a proud member of ‘The British Society of Scientific Glassblowers’ since 2013.
I jumped at the chance to learn glass in so much depth. I loved the engineering aspect and functionality of it. I learned to repair as well as create a wide range of scientific glassware on hand burners and glass lathes. The creative aspect of this work is endless. There are literally thousands of processes that carry magical visual impact.
In October 2015 I was commissioned for three sculptural works by Sarah Entwistle for the exhibition, “He was my father and I am an atom destined to grow into him,” exhibited by the Foundation Le Corbusier in Paris from 23 October to 6 December 2015. My works were two vase like sculptures and a large scientifically silvered glass dome.
In 2015 I founded my own artistic and scientific glass workshop MERSEY GLASS WORKS.
Since then I am creating glass art, memorial glass art and teach glass workshops to the beginners in Garston, South Liverpool, UK.