Incalmo Glass Sculpture ‘Trottola IV’ by Laura McKinley

Laura used the Italian method of Incalmo to create ‘Trottola IV’. This intriguing incalmo glass sculpture is made in beautiful shades of sapphire.

Pink and black sapphire blended together with bronze detailing. The free-blown halves joined together in perpetuity.

The shape and form are captivating and technically challenging to make. It is part of a highly imaginative series of works that inspires the audience to look at, in, and through the art itself.

The combination of varying glass thicknesses, polished, textured surfaces, and the interplay of light makes the visual experience a palette of different perceptions.

This is a great centrepiece for your new interior design project. Perfect on a side table, this playful piece is not to be played with!

Incalmo Glass 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