Design and Art Australia Online

Born in 1966 Giles Bettison, a glass maker started making his distinctive glass vessels with their innovative murrini decoration, in late 1995, and now has a national and international reputation for this work. He became interested in glass making in Adelaide, influenced by artists in the glass workshop at Jam Factory Craft and Design, and by the visiting American glass artists Richard Marquis and Dante Marioni in 1992, before enrolling at the Canberra School of Art where he started working with this process. Skilled as a fitter and turner, and also a musician, Bettison started to work with glass artists in Adelaide in 1992. He helped with the construction of some individual studios and furnaces and started to work as a production glass blower at JamFactory Craft and Design. Interested in traditional practices and aware of his enjoyment of skill based activity, he saw in glass-working an opportunity to bring ...