20 • Glass Art TM • May/June 2016 http://www.GlassArtMagazine.com
The British Glass Foundation supports the promotion of glass
as an art form, and Malcolm feels privileged to be a trustee for the
Foundation. In that role, he spearheads a project called Doodle. “We
ask celebrities to doodle an image on paper, then take the doodles
to glass artists. About 30 artists agreed to produce a piece of glass
inspired by a doodle, with money going back to support the British
Glass Foundation. Artists are always strapped for cash, so reaching
into our own pockets for donations is unrealistic. That project alone,
however, raised the profile of glass art and is expected to garner at
least £10,000 for the foundation.” Malcolm produced a YouTube
video on the project and was delivering doodle art to an auction
house immediately following the Glass Art interview.
The British collector base for studio glass is
strengthening as people recognize value in contem-
porary glass that they previously ascribed only to cut
crystal. “Hard-core glass enthusiasts throughout the
U.K. attend a couple of shows each year. We artists
take our one-off pieces and our latest body of work,
and collectors vie for unusual and innovative pieces
rather than what is established and exhibited in gal-
leries,” Millard says.
“People are buying contemporary glass as an in-
vestment. I am often advised that I should make a piece
of glass every year as an investment in my retirement,
but I can’t afford to do that,” she observes, aware of
the irony. “England’s appreciation for contemporary
glass is now catching up with America’s.”Evolutions in Marketing
Malcolm is proud to have supported himself for
nearly two decades and now to be supporting a family
on a glass artist’s income. Millard notes that only two
of the students who took university degrees in glass
with her batch are still earning a full-time living from
the medium.
Both artists have had to respond to the evolution
in markets as they pursue their glassworking careers.
Millard notes that she spent several years blowing
special goblets, an occupation she found quite satisfy-
ing, but notes, “Eventually, there was no point trying
to compete with high-quality functional items when
consumers were satisfied with lower-quality pieces
manufactured in countries with nominal labor costs.”
The artist is proud to have successfully transitioned
from making stemware to making high-level artwork.
For the past ten years she has been able to sustain her
practice between collectors’ fairs and her website,
freeing up considerable time to concentrate on engrav-
ing and glassmaking.
Millard speaks ardently of museums that assume
a role of educating people on the investment in labor,
materials, and energy required to produce unique and
wonderful glass pieces. “When they understand that,
many people are able to look at a price tag for hand-
made glass art and understand that it is reasonable.”
Malcolm emphasizes the lesson that history taught his
countrymen and the West. “A lot of the glass industry
died because consumers were constantly looking for
places to make things cheaper. Glass shouldn’t be
cheap. Glass art is a precious commodity that takes
a lot of energy and skill to make well. Some things are definitely
worth paying for.”
In addition to commissions and serious one-offs for the collec-
tors’ fairs, Malcolm produces a few bread-and-butter lines of eas-
ily repeatable products to offer at a price point where people can
consider buying them as gifts. He acknowledges that this work flies
in the face of a throwaway society, but notes, “We see ourselves
as making family heirlooms to be passed on rather than something
to be scrapped after a few years of use.” The artist distributes his
glass through his website and about 40 galleries up and down the
country. He enjoys the variable flow of energy that each type of
project requires. “Variety is the spice of life.”Allister Malcolm, Cloak Bottles,
15" tall. Photo by Simon Bruntnell.