Graham Muir

"I wish to make beautiful glass. Not 'Chocolate box' beauty per-se rather beauty you find in a work whose qualities draw you in and maintain your interest. Such work speaks of the harmony between artist and medium. It is often the result of many failed attempts but results in work all the stronger for that, where nothing needs added nor taken away.

I find glass does not respond well to being dominated by the artist. The concept of the work is just the starting point for a dialogue between idea and material. The artist flags up the idea, the medium responds and the discussion begins. However the material must not dominate proceedings either and hot glass can be very persuasive. This is where my technical skill plays its part.

I have discovered in my efforts to instil these qualities into my work that my ideas have moved far from the traditional glassmaking I was taught at Art College. I have been required to develop new techniques and resurrect and adapt some old ones to move on from the inevitable constraints on form that glassblowing produces.

Technically and creatively I no longer feel shackled by blowing the glass. However, whether it be the tight control of form and colour required in my sculptural 'perfume bottles', or the physical strength required to manipulate my large irregular wave forms, I feel at this moment I am pushed close to the limits of my technique.

The path this search for beautiful glass has led me on, although frustrating at times has also been very exciting too. I do not know exactly where in the future it will lead my work but I believe as long as what I produce is idea led and follows the motivation outlined above, my work will be going in the right creative direction and I look forward to what new works lie ahead."

Graham Muir

1961	Born Edinburgh, Scotland.
1983	Graduated Edinburgh College of Art, B.A. Hons Glass Design.
1984	Commissions undertaken for glass engravings of dancers from the Saddlers Wells and Royal Ballet dance companies.
1985/86	Worked as a glass assistant for Jenny Antonio and Paul Musgrove.
1987	Began own business Graham Muir Glass Design.
1990	Joined the council of the Scottish Craft Centre as vice-chairman.
1990-99	Employed as visiting glass lecturer at Sunderland University and latterly the National Glass centre.
1991	Joined working group with a remit to form a new crafts organisation for Scotland
1992	Employed as head of senior art at Cademuir International School, Peebles.
1999- Present	Built new hot glass studio in Duns, in the Scottish Borders.
1999	Invited as demonstrator at the British glass symposium, National Glass Centre.
2005	Selected for Chelsea Craft Show and awarded a grant by the Scottish Arts Council
2010	Invited to exhibit and demonstrate at Art in Action

Some Recent Exhibitions

2001	National Glass Centre, 'Sunderland Glass Connections' Sunderland.
2002	The Royal Exchange, Manchester.
2003	Glass Art Gallery, London. Royal Botanic Garden Exhibition, Edinburgh. Green Gallerie, Munich.
2004	Shipley Art Gallery, Newcastle. Queens Gallery, Dundee.
2005	Chelsea Craft Fair, London.
2006	Cowdy Gallery, "New Glass', Newent Craftscotland exhibition, Glasgow
2007	Roger Billcliffe Gallery, Glasgow
2008	Susan Megson Glass Gallery, Chipping Camden
2009	Great Northern Contemporary Craft Fair, Manchester
2010	Best of the Best, Art in Action. Glass Biennale 2010, International Festival of Glass.

Awards

2009	'Best in Show'.1st prize, Great Northern Contemporary Craft Fair, Manchester.
2010	'Best of the Best' 1st prize, Art in Action, Oxford.

Work in Public Collections

Dundee Museum and Art Gallery