Fused: a journey from artists in the National Art Glass Collection

• Jane Bruce Red Object #2 1995, kiln-formed ad blown bullseye glass, wheel cut

Cultural Background
Both of my parents were born in England

Place of Origin
Buckinghamshire, UK

Start of Migration Journey
New York, NY, USA - April 1994

Place of Arrival in Australia
Canberra, ACT – April 1994

First Home in Australia
Canberra, ACT

First job in Australia
Lecturer, Canberra School of Art, Australian National University
 
Other Jobs in Australia
Head of Workshop, Canberra School of Art, ANU
Senior Lecturer, Canberra School of Art, ANU

Any glass related objects that you brought with you? And still have?
I brought glass tools and books on glass

Jane's Story

I was born in Buckinghamshire, UK. My Mother was born in England, but was adopted so, unfortunately, I know nothing about her ancestors. My paternal Grandfather and Grandmother were born in Scotland, outside of Edinburgh and moved to England just before my Father was born.
In 1967 I completed my Foundation Studies at Buckinghamshire College. This was my first year of art school and covered all aspects of art making as well as the history of art. At Canberra it is called Core Studies. It was relevant to whatever one was going to study later on, and as it was before having to declare a major area of study, it also helped students make up their mind about what area to specialise in. What I learnt during Foundation Studies was how to think like an artist and was some of the most important education I ever received.
In 1967 I attended the City of Leicester Polytechnic; and attained a Diploma of Art & Design, 3D Design. My undergraduate studies, the Dip.AD, were in the Faculty of Industrial Design and I majored in Interior Design. I started glassblowing at the beginning of my last year of study.
I completed my MA in Glass at the Royal College of Art, London, in 1973 and was then involved with the Glasshouse, which was a private studio with five partners including myself. We made our own work and taught classes, I was there until 1979 and it closed sometime in the late 1990s.
Then in 1979 – 1981 I undertook Post-Graduate Studies in Glass at the New York State College of Ceramics in Alfred, USA, where I worked in neon and ceramics as well as glass. I had first visited the USA as a student in 1969 and had returned a couple of times and knew that I wanted to live here for a while, a couple of years maybe. In 1979 I was dissatisfied with what I was doing in London and with my work and decided to move to the US when offered the chance to return to college, in Alfred. After which I was very broke and applied for three teaching positions, one in London and two in the US, I was offered one at Ohio University. I think I knew deep down that whatever position I got would probably be it for which country I lived in, and as it turned out I was right, except of course for the 10 year detour to Canberra.
In 1994 I moved to Australia to take a position as Lecturer at the Canberra School of Art, Glass Workshop at ANU. I had answered an advertisement that came into UrbanGlass one day, Stephen Proctor followed up by contacting me to see if I was serious. We had known each other from when we both lived in England. I was no longer satisfied with living in New York, working at UrbanGlass and making what I was making, I was looking for a new experience to help my work grow. I was not particularly looking to move to Australia but the opportunity arose and initially I moved to teach at the ANU for only six months. The university then made me a very generous offer to stay and as I was enjoying both the teaching and living in Australia, I did.
During my time at ANU I was a Lecturer, Head of Workshop and finally a Senior Lecturer. I knew and worked with many artists including of course Stephen Procter, also Kirstie Rea, Itzell Tazzyman, Scott Chaseling, Robin Campbell, plus certain other members of the ANU teaching staff.
In 2004 I returned to the USA as I felt I had achieved all that I was going to with my teaching, but more importantly that I needed to see what was over the next horizon as far as my work was concerned.
My memories are of Kangaroos, squiggly bark, the different greens of the countryside, the vitality of the people and particularly the art scene, the amazing beaches, the aboriginal people and their art, all of which had a great influence on my work.
Australia is an amazing country and gave me a lot to think about.