Grant Donaldson – Glass Artist
Grant Donaldson – Artist Biography
After working on the land for 15 years Grant Donaldson started his career in glass in 1990, assisting his wife Eileen Gordon to establish the Gordon Studio Glassblowers. Essentially untrained, Grant’s progress as a glass artist has been remarkable. Encouraged by Eileen, a renowned glass blower, by 1994 Grant had already started working full time on his own unique range of glass art.
Today he is recognised as one of Australia’s most experimental and exciting new glass blowers.
“As a farmer I came to feel part of the Australian landscape – as a glass artist my work is a natural extension of that. I love the difficulties of working with glass, the dangers and thrill of exploration and experimentation – finding new and more challenging ways through the medium of glass blowing to express my feelings about the land “.
- 1959 Born Melbourne, Australia
- 1979-80 Certificate of Agriculture, Sunraysia College of TAFE.
- 1981 Diploma of Farm Management Marcus Oldham Farm Management College.
- 1982-88 Farm Manager on various properties in NSW, Vic. & Tasmania.
- 1984 Worked on property, Northern Germany . Travelled through Europe.
- 1988 Bought a Dairy Farm, Numurkah, Vic
- 1990 Assisted partner, Eileen Gordon, to establish ‘Gordon Studio Glass blowers’, Numurkah, Vic.
- 1994 Sold Farm & relocated ‘Gordon Studio Glass blowers’ to Rosebud, Vic. Full time Glass blowing, Developing own production line and exhibition glassware.
- 2005 Eileen and Grant closed their Rosebud glassworks and opened a specially designed glass workshop/studio and gallery/viewing space at Red Hill in the beautiful hinterland of the Mornington Peninsula, Victoria. The studio is also used by other glass blowers and is now a tourist attraction, open 7 days a week.
EXHIBITIONS:
1996 Sea in Glass, Peninsula Galleries, Sorrento, Vic
1997 The Gordon Family, Glass Artist Gallery, Glebe, NSW Group Show, Arica Gallery, Nedlands, WA
1998 Without Pier, Family Exhibit, Sandringham, Vic
1999 Azecra Kimono Dept. Store, Osaka, Japan
Munich International Craft Fair, Germany
Interior DesignEx Show, Melbourne, Vic
2000 Munich International Craft Fair, Germany
Translucence, Johnstone Gallery Revisited, Brisbane, Qld
2001 Munich International Trade Fair, Munich, Germany
Without Pier, Sandringham, Vic
Ausglass Conference, Members Exhibition, Melbourne
Commissioned for 16 Vases for the CHOGM Candidates
SOFA – Chicago, USA
2002 Commissioned for 3 vases for Crown Casino, Melbourne.
Munich International Craft Fair, Germany
SOFA – Chicago, USA The Journey
Eileen Gordon and Grant Donaldson, Skepsi on Swanston, Melbourne, Vic
2003 Ausglass Members Show
2005 Members Exhibition, GAS Conference, Adelaide
2006 Land Collaboration with painter Mike Green, Lauraine Diggins Fine Art, Melbourne
The Gordon family, Kirra Gallery, Melbourne
Outback and Beyond,Seaview Gallery, Queens cliff
2007 Glass is Oxygen, without Pier Gallery,Cheltenham
2008 Cool Climate Glass, Lindenderry at Red Hill
2008 Sculpture in a Drier Land, Melbourne International Flower & Garden Show
2008 Artanica Garden Sculpture, Duniera, Mount Macedon
2008 Some like it Hot, Glass Plus Gallery, South Melbourne
PUBLICATIONS:
2006 Hammond V, “LAND” exhibition catalogue