Isle of Wight Studio Glass has remained internationally pre-eminent in studio glass design and production for over half a century. Today, master glassmaker Timothy Harris (pictured), continues the family tradition.
Timothy's dedication and talent have been recognised in several prestigious awards including the Queen Elizabeth Scholarship Trust (QEST) in 1990, and various commissions, including a number for the Royal family.
These include a piece of cameo glass given to the Queen Mother for her 90th birthday, and the personal presentation of an engraved bowl to Her Majesty Queen in her Jubilee year of 2012. The bowl was a gift from the people of the Isle of Wight and was later exhibited in the Royal Collection.
...each time I make a piece of glass I ask myself, "what is the material going to teach me today" - Timothy Harris.
From an early age Timothy was attracted by the heat, fire and smoke of his father’s studio, and as soon as he could hold a blowing iron he began to experiment for himself. At age 13, perched in front of the furnace on a beer crate he would make small glass “Diddybirds”. Now, decades later, he is an acknowledged master of the art of glassmaking.
Glass is a material that has been worked for thousands of years, and each piece of Isle of Wight Studio Glass is made using skills, tools and materials that would be familiar to a glassmaker in Ancient Rome or Medieval Venice.
Timothy can now justifiably take his place as one of the finest glassmakers in Europe, yet after over half of a lifetime of experience, he still finds new ways of working with hot glass - constantly experimenting in his quest for perfection of shape, form and colour.
