Ben Edols and Kathy Elliott

Ben Edols has been blowing glass since 1987. He received his BA from Sydney College of the Arts and went on to successfully complete a postgraduate diploma at Canberra School of Art in 1992. Since that time Ben has travelled to work alongside colleagues in America, Italy, and Japan. He has given glassblowing workshops at Pilchuck Glass School, The Studio of the Corning Museum of Glass, Toyama Institute of Glass Art, Niijima Glass Centre, The Jam Factory and Sydney College of the Arts.

Kathy Elliott has been working with glass since 1988. Kathy received her BA from Canberra School of Art in 1992. She has specialized in cold working techniques and has given workshops at The Studio of the Corning Museum of Glass, Pilchuck Glass School, Toyama Institute of Glass Art, South Australian University at Underdale and Canberra School of Art.

Ben Edols and Kathy Elliott have been working together since 1993 when they had the first exhibition of their collaborative work at de Vera in San Francisco. At that time, they were on a two-year journey of travelling and working in different studios across America. In 2001 they completed work on their glass blowing and cold working studio where they continue their studio practice. Since then, their work has been inspired by botanical forms and patterns found in nature. The ability of glass to carry light can mimic the way in which light is diffused through the fluid filled cells of leaves and grass. They make objects they like to see in the world and are building a body of work that they hope will be coherent as it evolves over time.

“We have both tried to push ourselves into new territory with the glassblowing and the carving”, states Elliot. “We wanted to create sculptural forms with a beautiful tension and sense of rhythm, while at the same time exploiting the wonderful qualities of the glass, especially its ability to display color and texture through light.”

The pair have been seen as one of the most successful artistic partnerships in Australia, as their work has received international recognition. Over the decades, they have collaborated on work that has inspired and tantalized many through its intense color, form & use of light. Their work has been exhibited in Australia, Japan, the United States, Germany, England, and Italy.