1991 — 1995

BEGINNINGS
JANE BARNEY

AS A STUDENT IN THE ANU SCHOOL OF ART GLASS WORKSHOP, BLANCHE ESCHEWED THE FAST SATISFACTION OF HOT BLOWN GLASS AND THE SOLID ALLURE OF CAST GLASS. INSTEAD, IN SEVERE SIXTIES BLACK-RIMMED GLASSES, THE MAD SCIENTIST OF THE LAMPWORKING ROOM HEATED AND BENT AND CAJOLED BRITTLE AND STUBBORN PIECES OF GLASS INTO SMALL COMPONENTS FOR JEWELLERY. THIS WAS REPETITIVE, SHOULDER- LOCKING WORK, A NUMBERS GAME THAT SHE STILL PLAYS TODAY …

I HAVE TO MAKE 93 GLASS COMPONENTS AND EACH ONE TAKES 17 MINUTES ON AVERAGE SO, IF YOU FACTOR IN TOILET AND TEA-BREAKS, SLEEPS AND BREAKAGES, I SHOULD HAVE ALL COMPONENTS MADE BY FRIDAY, THEN 3 DAYS EACH FOR CONSTRUCTION AND I NEED 8 WORKS FOR THE SHOW SO I THINK IT’S ALL ON TRACK  PROVIDED I DON’T STOP FOR 11 DAYS.

EVEN IN THE BEGINNING, BLANCHE COULD IMAGINE THE WHOLE. BUT SHE HAD A PARTICULAR PROBLEM THAT WAS CAUSING HER DEEP DISQUIET: HOW TO DEAL WITH THE JOIN. IN SEARCH OF A SUITABLE JOIN, SHE WORE A TRACK BETWEEN THE ANU SCHOOL OF ART GLASS WORKSHOP AND THE GOLD AND SILVERSMITHING WORKSHOP, WHEREUPON SHE FOUND JOHANNES KUHNEN WHO HAD MORE THAN A THING OR TWO TO SAY ABOUT JOINS AND CLASPS, AND WHETHER OR NOT BLANCHE RIGHTFULLY BELONGED IN THE GOLD AND SILVERSMITHING WORKSHOP, WHERE SHE FINALLY SETTLED TO DO A POSTGRADUATE DEGREE.

BLANCHE TILDEN: TRUE,
SFA PRESS, CANBERRA, 2018, P.110