Tholoi, 1995, hot formed, blown and cold worked

Cultural background:     
English - Father of Viking origin from Hardangerfiord, Norway Mother of Irish origin

Place of origin:      
Totnes, Devon United Kingdom

Start of migration journey:    
London, UK [by air] June 1985

Place of arrival in Australia:   
Adelaide, South Australia - June 1985                                                  

First home in Australia:    
Maylands, Adelaide, South Australia

Initial employment in Australia:   
1985 - 94 Head of Glass, Jam Factory Craft and Design Centre, Adelaide, South Australia

Other employment in Australia:   
1994-96 Lecturer [part time] University of South Australia Deparment of Ceramics and Glass  1994-2000 Self employed Artist - design and production of individual works in glass/metal/wood - work also commissioned for architectural schemes.

Any glass related objects that you brought with you? And still have?: I brought a collection of blown/sculptural glass with me.

Peter's story

The surname Tysoe is of Viking origin my ancestors came in longboats from Hardangerfiord, Norway, around AD 800. My mothers' maiden name is Tomlins, she apparently came from Ireland in the 18th century. I was a child in World War Two and although financially poor, my parents were great readers and introduced me to books and encouraged my talents, such as they were, in the arts.

At the age of thirteen I was selected as a pupil at Oxford Secondary Technical School and placed in "Art stream" which was in the same building complex as the School of Art and I attended some of the classes. I became a full art student at eighteen yrs of age and a four yr course led to study at Goldsmiths School of Art 1956/57.

Prior to arriving in Australia I ran my own sculpture studios at Newton Abbot (1963), Dartington (1965) and Totnes (1979) all in Devon. During that time I did courses at the London Glasshouse with Steven Newell and Brierly Hill Glass Centre, West Midlands, United Kingdom.  I also worked with Dartington Glass Co to produce the cast/blown glass pieces for my commissions.

My initial contact with Australia was as a UK Churchill Fellow, Australian artists working in ceramics and glass while visiting the UK used me as a contact.  Rex Keogh - Melbourne, Steven Skillitzi - Adelaide, Peter Travis and Vic Greenaway - NSW where all artists I met during that period.  I met Maureen Cahill, then a student, at Brierly Hill and a conference at the Royal College of Art in London.  I visited Klaus Moje at his studio near Hamburg.  I knew the late Stephen Procter as a fellow member of the Devon Guild and introduced Stephen and his work to Peter Rath of Lobmeyer, Vienna.  This started his interest in hot glass.  He later migrated to Australia.

I always felt drawn to Australia; my father had nearly emigrated as a young man. I have three sons, one of whom immigrated with us at the age of eighteen.  The impetus to reply to the advertisement for the post at The Jam Factory, Contemporary Craft and Design in Adelaide, South Australia was the advent of the Thatcher Government in the UK. 

I was appointed Head of the Glass Workshop at the Jam Factory Centre for Craft and Design, Adelaide in 1985 and remained in that position until 1994.  After I left the Jam Factory I ran my own independent studio at Campbeltown in SA producing commission and individual work until 2000 and during 1994-96 I lectured, part time, at the University of South Australia(SA) in the Department of Ceramics and Glass. 

During my time in Australia I worked and had associations with a number of local artists, including Ian Mowbray, Vicki Torr, Lynn Collins, Gerry King, Steven Skillitzi, Stephen Bowers, Peter Andersson, Ian White, Cedar Prest, Nick Mount, Maureen Cahill and students at The Jam Factory.

Among my memories of Australia are the light and heat of Adelaide and the South Australian landscape. By 2000 I had reached the age of sixty five and our three sons and their partners were living in UK. The arrival of grandchildren caused my partner, Pat, and myself, to make the reluctant decision to return to England to live, in order to be a part of their lives. But we do hope to return whenever possible to see our many friends.