Installation of Perthshire Sheep at Perth Museum and Art Gallery, Perth, Scotland. Commissioned by the Museum.

Photo courtesy of Paul Adair and Perth and Kinross Council.

I began as a metalsmith in 1986, branched out into stone-carving in 1995 and took up hot glass in 2004. Very quickly I changed my allegiance to flameworked glass. Flameworking is the same type of glass-making as is used for chemistry laboratory ware, small-scale figurine work and bead-making. I use this technique on a huge scale to several ends: to impact and heighten the experience of the site of the work; to involve as many disparate groups in as many creative ways as possible in the research, making or bringing to fruition of a piece; and to make work of beauty and poetry capable of being emotionally moving, and providing an enticing and encouraging environment for participants' own narratives.

My work explores connection and disconnection within sculpture, installation and performance. Within these threads of practice, engagement and social inclusion are paramount. The work both uses and comments on the connection/disconnection afforded by social media. I make sculpture for institutions and commissions. Performances offer opportunities for the engagement of the public in safe, compelling environments for the inclusion of their ideas on a deeply meaningful level with group aesthetic outcomes.

In 2010 I founded a flameworking performance group called Torcher Chamber Arkestra. Comprised of an international team of flameworkers from neon, bead, and sculptural backgrounds, we use flameworking, dance, music, and pyrotechnics to bring our technique to a wider audience in innovative, exciting performances involving the audience in new methods of engagement.