laura murdoch

laura murdoch

vancouver

glass | mixed media

about

Growing up in the Yukon, this artist studied and apprenticed in glassblowing in the US over a ten-year period with the William Morris Team when they privately rented Pilchuck Glass School in the winters, and was a teaching assistant in several Seattle schools. She was honored to be in the live portion of Pilchuck’s annual fundraising auction in 2017, when she was also featured in the concurrent “Jury’s Choice” exhibition in Seattle.

After returning to Vancouver in 2011, she undertook a certificate in Building Construction and Architectural CAD to add to her skill set. She currently makes her work at Terminal City Glass in Vancouver, where she has also taught, and makes commissioned work.

Among her many achievements and awards is the honor of winning, after being invited to submit, an international competition to design a set of large light sculpture installation for the University of Delaware.

She is represented in galleries across the US and Canada.

artist statement

The magical optical effect of the luminous colors of glass never stops taking my breath away, particularly when objects are lit from within. When I stumbled upon making glass, I recognized instantly that my love of ancient repeating patterns, and my relentless need to be a maker of complex objects had found home. Both pattern and glass are mesmerizing to me, with so much to say to the viewer when one looks closely.

My work has evolved to be a dialogue between simple classical blown shapes as canvases, and flowing intricate patterns “painted” through sand-carving, building them one layer at a time through the “graal” process. Layers of color and patterning get encased inside the glass, so that the inside layers can be glimpsed through the outer layers, as though each layer is a window.

It is a highly complex and challenging process, fraught with risk, yet the more complicated it is, the more enthusiasm and focus I have for it, When it all converges into a successful piece, I feel pure joy and harmony.
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