James Maskrey

Cook’s Eggs, 2010
Glass, printed-paper; Free-blown jars and lids, free-blown and solid formed eggs, lamp-worked details
Photo: David Williams

Social situations, overheard conversations, observed interactions and personal experiences hugely inspire Maskrey’s work. Tall stories, elaborate hoaxes and peculiar facts, usually from a bygone era, are then translated into glass, often resulting in flamboyant narratives, theatrical compositions or simple objects with a twist.

Cook’s Eggs is an imagined assortment of delicacies collected during Cook’s first voyage encompassing Australia and New Zealand in 1768. The references come from Cook’s Journals, the visual realisation are the result of Maskrey’s imagination and expert manipulation of glass.

Biography

James started working with glass in 1990 originally training as an apprentice and subsequently worked for 7 years at a hot glass studio in Dorset. After graduating in 2000 with a Three Dimensional Design BA (Hons) degree in glass at The Surrey Institute of Art and Design he was appointed as Artist in Residence at the Surrey Institute. In 2001 James joined the Glass and Ceramics department at The University of Sunderland and graduated with an MA in Glass with distinction in 2004. He has exhibited widely in the UK, in the USA and at the International Glass Symposium in the Czech Republic.

Related links

• Visit James Maskrey's webpage