Inspiration from another

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I started my career at teacher training college in 1965 my main course subject was art and I chose to specialise in ceramics so I’ve always enjoyed being creative. I had a great teaching career and taught for 30 years and always wondered how I would fill in my time when I finished work. In 1999 I moved house and found myself living next door to Zora Palova, a glass artist from Bratislava in Slovakia. She was working as a research professor at the University of Sunderland. Her enthusiasm and sensitivity to her work really inspired me. She persuaded me to go to a glass course run by the Centre for Life Long Learning where I learned how to fuse, slump and cast glass. That was fifteen years ago, I still go to classes now and have continued to make items including jewellery, three dimensional pieces, bowls, coasters etc. I had always wondered how I would fill in my time when I retired from teaching; glass has definitely filled in my time, becoming a big part of my life not only working with glass but also as a friend of the National Glass Centre. I have been involved in many activities including outings to several glass artists’ studios and many churches to see some amazing stained glass. When Zora left the university to return to Bratislava we promised to keep in touch which we have done, and a couple of years ago I visited Zora in Bratislava and had a fabulous holiday visiting and seeing places I wouldn’t have dreamt of.