Glass leaves

Spotted in The Green Gallery: beautiful fragile foliage

Glassblower Stephen Bradbourne’s studio in Auckland is packed with subtropical plants. This inspired him to create these beautiful fragile works of art: leaves that do not droop. 

Glassblowing the Movie

After studying craft design, Stephen Bradbourne had the chance to learn glassblowing from one of New Zealand’s best glassblowers. He seized this opportunity and has never looked back, overcoming his biggest challenge which was to master the material. In a workshop with the American glass artists Dick Marquis and Dante Marioni he learned murrine, an Italian technique for creating coloured patterns of images. 

Some ten years ago he decided to focus entirely on his own work, which turned out to be a brilliant move. The film shows him at work. 

Discover more unexpected green in The Green Gallery