Artist Profile - Karlin Rushbrooke

Karlin studied Art Education at Stourbridge College of Art. His first studio was in Sussex having relocated to Herefordshire in 1973. He has spent half his life as a builder and half as a glass blower. His glass can be found in several public collections in the UK and his building work can be seen scattered around the Herefordshire countryside.

Karlin was one of the first UK glassmakers to set up their own studio after the introduction of small furnaces from the USA in the late Sixties. He melts recycled half-lead crystal, and obtains a fluid quality of material with a sensitive use of colour. He has made all his equipment himself, and works without assistants in his studio at home.

Karlin began to develop his glass sculptures in 2003. They are possible thanks to the technical brilliance of industrial float glass and the magic of ultra violet glue which sticks glass together in minutes with a bond that is stronger than the glass itself. These works start off as simple sketches on paper but change and develop during their constuction. To quite a large extent they are exercises in improvisation. They have no message or meaning but rather marry the fluidity of blown glass with the optical properties of float glass purely for the joy of the union.

Contact Info

tel: 01981 250835