Shifting Horizons: Exploring the intersection of landscape & human experience in the evolving realm of sustainable glassmaking

Abstract

Within the field of glass art, it evident that there exists a shared collective interest in exploring the interplay between landscape and human experience, within sustainable glass practice. Many makers are driven by a deep connection to place and a belief that the place where something is made can influence the production of a crafted object. These objects often carry embedded knowledge, reflecting the environment from which they emerge and are inherently linked to the natural world. This paper aims to reveal a deeper understanding of the interconnectedness between humans, nature, and the things we create. Reviewing crafted objects not just as isolated artifacts but as objects intimately linked to the contexts from which they emerge. Amidst the currents of change that define our current context, it is imperative that as makers we carefully examine and renew our own creative craft practices. In our post-industrial era, the world has undergone profound changes marked by instability and uncertainty. The conceptual framework of the Anthropocene states that human activity has fundamentally influenced and irrevocably changed our climate and environment. Industrial practices such as glass making can be viewed as a form of extraction (and exploitation) of natural resources and materials. This issues a serious call out to for makers to demonstrate the urgent need for new sustainable and alternative methodological approaches to glass making.