Professionals Tamborine Mountain 
Fae Fleur has been working with glassblowing for a long time now, and invites us into her studio to share her passion for glass art and explain a little about the glassblowing and mosaicking workshops she offers.
by Kyle Hitchmough
How long have you been doing this?
I started off like most people do with stained glass, making windows and that kind of thing as I saw an advert for lead-lighting. I was a single mum and wanted a hobby and I did that for quite a few years. I had a fairy shop for a long time—Fairies on the Walk.
When I finished with Fairies on the Walk, I was selling the light fittings to someone and it just happened to be the lady from the glass shop. I already liked glass and they had a couple of leadlight pieces which I assisted with, and I got a job with them. When I realized that you could fuse glass I was in heaven. Bought myself a kiln, got the right kind of glass, watched lots of tutorials… and then met David Palmer, with whom I work. He’s taught me a lot, and I’m also learning a lot by teaching other people.
What was your inspiration to begin teaching classes come from?
I’ve always loved it. I love talking to people. I’ve just always been that kind of person. Teaching people, it’s about sharing. I want to share it with people. If you’re interested, and I can see those little sparks going off, I want to tell you everything.
What goes into teaching your workshops?
I give them a bit of a tour of the studio, I show them what we’re going to make, and give them some examples. You do get people who think they know everything, and people who don’t appreciate that they’re being taught by a girl. Sometimes they can go ‘oh, it doesn’t seem that hard’, and then they have a go and realise how hard it is. I like to push those barriers because I’ve always chosen professions that aren’t the easiest. Glassblowing can be a very male-dominated field. So, for a woman to be teaching a bloke in this field is bizarre and really confronting. People think it’s going to be light fun and all of a sudden, the furnace is up to 1100 degrees and they’re shocked. Even the big blokes, when you’re helping them put their pipe in to collect the glass, it’s a struggle.
You also do mosaicking, correct?
Yes, it’s a very easy thing to do. I’ve got all this glass left over from stained glass that I can’t use because of the type of glass it is. Enter mosaics. And it’s so much fun! Anyone can do it. And the way they come out is always different. It’s very rare that they don’t look good.
Do you find that you get a certain majority of clientele?
All walks of life. It’s been a really good mix of younger and older people. That’s just the glassblowing, of course. With the mosaics, that’s usually the older ladies, like myself, or their kids. I’ve had a few family groups. When I did the last jewelry class there were two ladies who were about sixty. One of the hubbies came with them, and he was so impressed with everything he decided he’d get in on it too.
You’re a local to the Tamborine area, yes? What’s your opinion on the mountain as an area and a community?
I’ve been here not quite twenty years. As a community – I think there’s something in the air. Makes us all happier, a lovely bunch. I think it’s also a really arty community which is great, most impressive art scene that I’ve ever been involved with.
What do you think a service like the one you offer provides to the area beyond the end product?
I think that it’s a healing thing. I’m not an art therapist by any means, but I definitely feel it has mental health benefits. I really believe that. I call it ‘yin and yang’ because it’s really zen when you’re watching your piece go around and around, and then all of a sudden you have to do something with it. And then it’s chaos, it’s mental. I really like when I can help someone focus, and then when the job’s done, come back and take a breath. It’s really fulfilling. And just getting people to be creative, too. It is really hard for some people. They settle on a design, they might need help choosing their colours, but when they’ve done it, there’s a sense of achievement, both for them and me.
What do you enjoy most about doing this?
The endless possibilities, simply. There’s so much creative stuff and so many possibilities that come from it that there’s no one thing.
Do you have any standout stories you have from doing this?
There’s been a few! I do remember one time when we had a lovely couple. One of them was saying to her friend “Oh, don’t faint, I know you’re a bit short of breath”. So, we had our eye on her to make sure that wouldn’t happen, and then the other girl that was being cheeky was blowing her glass. I just happened to be behind her and she fainted! I caught her, Dave’s grabbed the pipe with the hot glass on it… goes to show we’re a really good team. That was a fun day.
Is there anything else you’d like to go on the record?
Come on down and have a play! I am only new. I just want people to come and enjoy it. I’d like to include nighttime classes, too. This is my full-time passion, and I just want to share it with everyone.
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Or email the writer at kyle.hitchmough@hotmail.com, and follow me on Twitter @realcasualrvws.
