Kathryna Cuschieri

Glass fuser

©Annabelle Brown

Glass narratives

Kathryna specialises in the slumping and fusing techniques
She incorporates digital photographs into the glass
She is predominately self-taught

Kathryna Cuschieri was born in Malta in 1962 and then moved to England in 1976. Later she completed a foundation in art at Thurrock Polytechnic in Essex and later graduated with a bachelor's degree in Fine Art from Coventry University. She set up her studio in Ireland in 1993. Fireworks Studio is located in the rural and picturesque Glendree, County Clare. Kathryna is influenced by her inner world of visions, magical images and fairytales. Using the potential of hot glass, she embraces the fragility of the material to express this dream world that informs the collective consciousness, examining the cultural impact on modern life. Her works have been commissioned for a variety of settings from private homes to schools, hospitals and corporate buildings.

Interview

©Annabelle Brown

©Annabelle Brown

When and how did you start working with glass?: At 24, I moved to Cumbria. My neighbour created small glass works. I asked her to show me how to cut glass and made a small glass panel using the Tiffany method. The next piece I made was the size of a barn door, using magnificent Hartley Woods handblown glass.
Where do the stories in your work come from?: I am interested in how tales we are told as children stay with us as adults, and how the interpretation of their meaning informs our adult lives and our perception of the world. Especially in Ireland where I am surrounded by mythical landscape, flora and fauna.
What is so alluring about glass?: Glass is very alchemical; it is flexible and malleable when heated. It can capture a very wide range of feelings. It can hold so much and yet be delicate and precarious enough to allow for the engagement of mindfulness, enabling reflection on the fragile nature of life.
What is a memorable moment from your career?: Being introduced to the President of Ireland as the designer and fabricator of the Glass Society of Ireland’s Glass Quilt, A Breath of Fresh Air. This was a group project in response to COVID-19 and I was honoured to be chosen to coordinate the construction of the work.

Kathryna Cuschieri is a master artisan: she began her career in 1988 and she started teaching in 2004