Blown Art Sculpture ‘Imagine IX’ by Laura McKinley

Laura McKinley’s blown art sculpture ‘Imagine IX’ is an incredibly modern and stylish piece of glass art. Number nine in the ‘Imagine’ series, it comprises 4 pieces.  Each piece is free-blown, hot-sculpted, and when cold, cut and polished to the highest level.

The purity of white is balanced by a splash of aqua blue, giving it a playful yet serene feeling. If you are looking for a thought-provoking, modern, and blown-art sculpture, then look no further!

Blown Art Sculpture Artist

Laura McKinley Glass Artist began her glass-making career with a BA in 2008 at Buckinghamshire Chilterns University. From there, her stellar rise through the glassmaking world has been nothing short of a blaze of glory.

After graduating, Laura won a scholarship to the world-famous Pilchuck Glass School in the United States, and then a further scholarship to create a piece of work for the Fresh Air Sculpture Show in 2010.

Laura continues to hone her skillset and has completed her Masters in Ceramics and Glass at the Royal College of Art with a full scholarship.

Since then, Laura has been working full-time as a glass artist. Her work is influenced by the Italian Incalmo technique, where two separate hot-blown glass bubbles are cut and coalesced together to form a unique single piece.

The interplay between the two pieces forms unimagined juxtapositions of light and texture, providing Laura with endless possibilities. Often, the results are serendipitous and completely unexpected, allowing the finger of fate to become part of the glassmaking process.

Working with molten hot glass requires quick decision-making. Decisions that etch themselves onto the final finished piece.

Thoughts become actions, spontaneous actions become tangible artistic results. After the heat and excitement of the furnace, Laura settles down to the painstaking, meticulous finishing work that makes her work so unfathomably beautiful.

Laura works from her studio in Woolwich, London. 

Artist Statement

“I am intrigued by the contrast between the fragile, serious nature of glass and the playfulness of the form. I aim to create something that looks as though it should be touched and toyed with, yet leads the viewer to question this, because of the fragility of the material”.

Laura McKinley Glass Artist