from the
Glass Encyclopedia
from the
Glass Encyclopedia above: lily paperweight by Peter Viesnik  above: Pacific fish by Peter Raos If you are looking for NZ paperweights there are always some for sale on eBay. See what there are just now - click New Zealand Glass |
New Zealand Glass Paperweights: A short explanation: New Zealand paperweights do not follow European or American paperweight traditions, largely because the country is so isolated in the South Pacific and until the 1970s there was very little contact with glass artists from overseas. Early New Zealand paperweights (before the 1960s) were simple circular or oblong glass blocks either promoting a business with indented lettering on the back, or promoting a tourist attraction with a photograph or a print fixed to the back. The Studio Glass movement started in New Zealand in the late 1970's, following a trend worldwide. In 1979 Dick Marquis and Ed Carpenter came to New Zealand to teach their studio skills to Garry Nash, Peter Raos, Peter Viesnik, John Croucher, Keith Mahy, Tony Keupfer, Mel Simpson, and others. The Hot Glass Company was founded in Devonport in 1980, and New Zealanders watched their budding glass artists making hand-blown glass. In those very early days they sometimes collected glass from the tip and remade it into Mexican-style glasses and decorative pieces. Paperweights were amongst the early pieces designed and made by New Zealand glass artists and eagerly collected by New Zealand and visiting collectors. In 1980 the New Zealand Society of Artists in Glass was founded, and in 1981 another international workshop was organised. Studio Glass in New Zealand had taken a firm hold and has never looked back. There is no doubt that today's New Zealand studio artists produce glass comparable to the best in the world. Perhaps their lack of a long tradition encourages great spontaneity.
There are several web-pages about individual New Zealand glass paperweight artists and their glass, including the following (click on their names to see each page): Peter Viesnik Garry Nash Keith Mahy Shone Firman Greg Smith Peter Raos |
