Jo Tricker

“I am fascinated by glass - by its ability to transform itself from a solid to a liquid and back to a solid again! For me it is the endless fascination of where science and art meet. Whilst glass is highly fascinating - it is also a hugely challenging medium that can have a high percentage of failures. And yet ironically, it is this challenge that keeps me coming back again - for it is never boring.”

My glass art works are made using fusing, slumping, casting and flameworking techniques. My medical laboratory background directly influences my artistic processes as does my love of colour, pattern and different world cultures. I am also inspired by literature, family history, and the joy of dance.

African Gourd: I've always been fascinated by other cultures - my favourite toy as a child was a black golliwog! (And yes, they are no longer PC, but as a child my toy love was purely innocent!). And so I always wanted to travel and see how other people lived. In my mid-twenties, I went to live in the UK for three years. I had loads of fun and did lots of travel and returned home via Africa in September 1995. I travelled through Egypt, Jordan and Israel and then down the East Coast - by way of the Kenyan Baobab trees and the Rift Valley. I hung out on Zanzibar Island for a week, ate fish caught fresh from Lake Malawi, and walked around the Great Zimbabwe ruins. In Johannesburg (South Africa) I saw Ndbele and Zulu patterns everywhere - on street walls, beaded attire and on houses, and fell in love with them. This gourd is a small expression of my Africa!