Cheers for ‘fluid’ glass

By Casey Neill
She last week unveiled her first solo exhibition, Transparent Works, at Burrinja Café Gallery.
Ms Laken was “daunted, excited and nervous, but it’s come together well,’’ she said of the show.
The 40-year-old has worked with glass since she was just 14.
“I don’t understand my love for it,” she said.
“I like the medium because it’s so fluid. There’s so much you can do with it.”
She was introduced to glass through working with copper foil and got hooked during work experience with a lead lighter.
“I enjoy using several techniques combined within a project to add dimension and unique individuality to each of my glass works,” she said.
“I also enjoy working with a theme…exploring the beginnings and creating my interpretation.”
Ms Laken loves to paint glass and manipulate it and change its form.
“My favourite is collecting organic matter from the garden and sealing it in glass,” she said.
The process preserves the leaves or seeds, “capturing them forever”.
Ms Laken has exhibited throughout Australia and won several awards for her work.
She said Europe and American were streets ahead of Australia when it came to their use of glass.
“They use glass to its fullest extent and I’m trying to bring Australia to the forefront,” she said.
Ms Laken creates architectural and church windows, artworks, jewellery, bowls, chandeliers and more, runs her own business, Spirit of Glass, and teaches workshops in schools and from her studio.
Students start with a simple leadlight panel and learn to make a window for their home. Ms Laken also teaches people how to make glass jewellery.
“It’s a great gift for relatives or friends, very personalised,” she said.
The Transparent Works exhibition opening will be held at Burrinja Café Gallery, 351 Glenfern Road, Upwey from 6pm on Saturday.
The exhibition will be on display until 31 May.
Ms Laken will give visitors a glimpse into her creative process when she throws open her doors for the Dandenong Ranges Open Studios weekend between 10am and 4pm on 29 and 30 May.
Readers can visit www.openstudios.org.au for more information.