I have just completed five artworks that explore the complex construct of the common shipping container.

Each work looks to address the origin/affect/ support/relationship of what the common shipping container carries between its origin and and its port of destination.

I believe that there is a duality in this delivery. For what these containers can carry/support/build/extend they also include the ability to crush/deconstruct/limit the path of the receiving end.

These works expose the available interiors of the containers that have within them the ability to hold the enduring impact of their journey...

I have just returned to the lucky country from the home of the brave and the opening festivities for the "Links" show at the Museum of Glass in Tacoma, Washington. You can check out the accompanied catalog here.

This show is a collection of several Australian and American artists whose development is directly linked through their work and their specific locations. With this said, the included artists/works are merely a concentrated collection since the length of the links could be extended much further than the space could contain.

For me, I have been lucky enough to have a single work included in the show through (I believe) my time in Portland and my direct interaction with Australian artists, my marriage to a very special Aussie, the influence of Australian techniques on my work, my consistent time/travel to Australia, my relocation from the Pacific NW to Australia and the affect the move has had on my personal/professional development. Here is a few images of my included piece and that of my special Aussie...

I have been  working in many directions.

I am currently "Phil-ling" in for the technical officer in the glass workshop at the Australian National University.

As well, I have been continuing my pursuit of my research, doing some project management for some designer projects, work on the new studio, preparation for upcoming traveling and teaching engagements this summer and beginning to construct some new pieces.

If you are interest in seeing the work, please check out the Beaver Galleries, Traver Gallery and the Blue Rain Gallery on their upcoming exhibitions.

If you want to see me soon in Australia, just drop by the ANU Mon-Wed or by our new shop in Queanbeyan. If you want to catch up in America, please come to Klaus Moje's award ceremony in Seattle, the festivities at the Museum of Glass for the LINKS exhibition or between the bookshelves at Powell's Books on Burnside Street in Portland, Oregon on Sunday May 19th and most likely May 20th...

Here is a few shots of my progress...

Mel and I have acquired a new studio here in Australia!!

It is exciting and feels like home. I must give thanks to her family for all of their help and care in helping us with this transition.

It is a place full of potential...

Late last year, I completed a commissioned Watertower work titled "Slow Rise" for a client in California.

As with all commissions, I worked to incorporate the identity and ideas of the client into the resulting work. I feel that this method develops a collaborative construction that blends maker and receiver through form.

I am happy to say that the final piece resonated with the client and was received happily. Much to my surprise, it seems that the journey is now the book! Needless to say, it is a sweet memento of the making and a first for me.

I have just returned from a whirlwind adventure to the UK, Northern Ireland, Ireland and France. In three of these four areas, I presented some lectures, small workshops and visited some of the major art programs that provide majors in glass.

My trip was fantastic and all the people I met were excellent.

I did notice that as I talked to many students, lecturers and practicing artists that it seemed to be much more difficult to build a thriving practice without the support, integration and connections of a wider community. In the talks that I gave on my own practice, I reflected on my good fortune to have always been able to construct my path within areas awash with artistic activity (such as Portland and Canberra) as well as quicken the pace of my development through my involvement with formalized organizations (such as GAS and the Pilchuck Glass School).

I also focused on how I work to progress my path by first building a foundation of ability and access to support the structure and span of a career in art. I see this as developing the skills to build your way as well as the support to hold you in place. For me, I owe a lot to those who have educated and employed me and also those who are my friends and colleagues (especially Mel George).

Here is a link to a write up by Fiona Byrne on the talk I gave at the National College of Art and Design in Dublin.

Now returning from this trip and back to focus, I am excited and energized to start back up on my PhD and all of the various projects circling the areas of my available free time.

I have just recently completed a handful of new work from two different series of work.

The first couple of works are from the Barrel series and are entitled "Production Level 1" and Production Level 2". Each contain a set of seven mold blown barrel shapes with hand blown glass inserts and fabricated float glass lids. The number of the barrels relate to the number of available productive days in a week and address the realistic oscillation in the quality and completeness of effective effort.

The second set of works are related to my current PhD research on shipping containers. This work is from a new series entitled the Container Series. These works both highlight the historical utilization of glass as a container as well as make transparent the impact of the normally obscured use of the modern shipping container.

My hope is that each of these works lead to inquiries into the contents of containers, their relationship to their destination and origin and the necessity vs. the ability to utilize our modern globalized network of shipping.

For instance, the work The Full Extent, contains a form that is at the full linear capacity of what the interior void can accommodate. The work is a reflection upon my own personal experience of using a shipping container to move between countries and at the question of whether I employed its use to its fullest advantage and whether its contents were all that I required in making the transition.

I was recently contacted by Michael Janis. He informed me that he was working on the Washington Glass School's "Artist to Watch" section of their website. He said that he wanted to do a small section about me. Humbly and happily, I quickly agreed. Thank you Michael! Check out the resulting post here.

It has been a busy time here in Canberra since returning from the States last month. I am mainly focused on my PhD but am also taking on some small projects to afford the decadency of academia. In the mix of all of this, there is always some random, surprising and wonderful happenings...

Here are some developing works from my research:

Here is a presentation platter that I created for the Australian Culinary Team (check them out here):

Here is a lovely little project that I completed for a fantastic man...the author Bryce Courtenay:

And, as you do in such a tight knit community, an Italian Maestro came down under. Here he is with an Australian Maestro:

I have just returned to Australia from the GAS conference in Toledo. It was a fantastic event. I couldn't be happier!!

Check out what Andrew Page says about the event here.

Aside from the conference ending, my 7.5 years on the GAS Board and my 2yr. term as the President has also come to a close. It was a hard job, but one worth doing in order to keep a community coming together.

Here is a photo of me getting to present Joel Philip Myers with his Lifetime Achievement Award and an image of me and my greatest support...