Kathryn runs amok on magic carpet

Kathryn runs amok on magic carpet

UCOL Fine Arts and Glass Lecturer, Dr Kathryn Wightman has claimed the prestigious 2014 Ranamok Glass Prize with a three-metre long glass rug, titled Carpet.

She says her piece had been inspired by the imperfections in our lives.

"I'm fascinated with fabrics and textures, and working with textures and patterns is a theme that runs through my work," she says.

Kathryn screen-printed glass powders to create a textured carpet pattern. The carpet was then intentionally distorted with bare footprints over the unfired powder. The results were kiln formed.

The work was described by the judging panel as "an intriguing and beautiful reworking of historical imagery.”

The $15,000 Ranamok Glass Prize was founded in 1994 and always attracted an impressive line-up of Australian and New Zealand glass artists.

Kathryn was a finalist in 2013 with her work Wallpaper. She is the last winner of the prize, which wraps up this year after a 20-year run.

Kathryn's work will be first exhibited at Canberra Glassworks where she received her award earlier this week.

Kathryn moved to Whanganui from the UK in 2012 to teach at the Wanganui Glass School on the Whanganui UCOL Diploma in Glass Production and Design programme.

This year she also won the Gold Award in the Bullseye Glass Company Emerge 2014, an American kiln-glass exhibition for emerging artists.

Kathryn intends to invest in a new kiln for her studio with the prize money.

ENDS.

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