Rebecca Heap
ABOUT REBECCA HEAP
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ARTIST STATEMENT:
"When I was six years old watching someone working with hot glass sparked an interest that would linger for life. I was totally captivated and in order to draw me away long after my siblings and cousins had left to play, Mum quietly whispered “maybe one day when you are a big girl you could do that too. Having finished school I went to University, initially working in the horticultural industry, and subsequently as secondary school science teacher, but in the back of my mind the lure of glass remained. In my free time and school holidays I dabbled in fusing, casting and flameworking for close on a decade until 2003 when I decided that the time had come to take a leap of faith and become a glass blower. My mother’s prediction finally came true when I enrolled at Whanganui Ucol for their three year Diploma in Glass Design and Production. Towards the end of 2011 I returned to my roots and since then have been a full-time glass designer/maker. My work is influenced by the local environment but is also linked to the great heritage of blown glass that I experienced through my time overseas. To blow glass I hire the hot shop in Whangarei adjacent to Burning Issues Gallery and near the Hundertwasser Art Centre. At home in Auckland I have a well-appointed studio and cold shop with several kilns where I do my cold finishing and create cast-glass pieces. Until Covid, every couple of years I returned to Europe to catch up with friends and colleagues and re-ignite my inspiration from their glass traditions. I have directed some of my creativity to glass casting in which New Zealand has an international reputation. However rather than casting the usual large scale lost wax sculptural works I decided to make small highly refined pieces which require special techniques. The research and development work has been very satisfying and the two glass forms complement each other well." |
