James Lethbridge

Glass sculptor

©James Lethbridge Glass

©Ester Segarra

©James Lethbridge Glass

Catharsis through glass sculpture

James uses flameworking to compose glass objects
He is inspired by the intricate complexity of life
His patience is crucial in his practice

Originally choosing a life in ceramics in his native Yorkshire, James Lethbridge soon grew dissatisfied and turned to glass. In 2007 he graduated with a master's degree in Glass & Ceramics from the RCA in London. “I am primarily self-taught through persistence, trial and error, and stealing skills with my eyes,” he says. Now based in Antwerpen, James makes vessels, sculptures and chandeliers with the flameworking technique he has developed and innovated. In working with glass, “you understand that you can bend the material to your will, to such an extent that you can express your designs and concepts”. In his case, designs and concepts are a surrealist natural world, with microscopic pollen, twisting vines and unseen vortexes, the infinite complexity of life.

Interview

©James Lethbridge Glass

©James Lethbridge Glass

What are your sources of inspiration?: My love of nature led me to study the botanical, biological and astral sources of visual inspiration. I explore form, space, material and texture using the purity and fluidity of hot transparent glass and light. Recently I have worked on the theme of microbiology and microscopic worlds.
Do you master any specific techniques?: I have good basic skills within glassblowing, but for over ten years I have focused on flameworking torch. I specialise in mass reproduction component making. Where I innovate is in my ability to replicate components, combined with UV bonding: and this is thanks to my innate patience.
How is repetition involved in your practice?: The action of repetition is meditative and it allows me to reach a sense of achievement and a cathartic sense of spiritual completion, which allows an existential dialogue with myself. Time seems to both fly by and stand still.
What was a memorable moment in your professional life?: It would be my very first, large-scale commission, immediately after my graduation. It was a seven-metre-long chandelier with huge, white, hot glass blown balls, tendrils and thousands of tiny spikes, for The Red Mansion Foundation. I called it The Virgin Chandelier.

James Lethbridge is a master artisan: he began his career in 2007 and he started teaching in 2010