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Rozlyn de Bussey

As a recognised Australian glass artist and educator, I’ve exhibited my work globally since 1984 including in the USA, Italy, the UK, the Netherlands and New Zealand. My work is represented in collections throughout Australia and overseas including the Frank Howarth Collection, Queensland Art Gallery, Piiponnen Collection in Finland and the Sklarse Museum in Czech Republic.

As a committed Canberra artist, I have been recognised by the glass fraternity as a professional maker and educator. My standing as a contemporary practitioner is evidenced in my work being showcased as an independent artist in the then prestigious Ranamok Glass Prize and the Bombay Sapphire Design Prize. Not many in this country can use vitreous enamels and lusters as I can do. It does take years of practice, patience and resilience to master a variety of technical processes.

As a Craft ACT Professional Accredited Artist, I’ve been further recognised by peers and colleagues for my excellence, technical skills and ability to create glass forms that shine in their own light using historical technical processes in a contemporary way.

There is always something new and exciting to learn regarding my chosen medium being glass and one’s own ancestral history. A wonderful event such as DNA testing connected me to my ancestors who were also bespoke artists in a variety of mediums on my maternal grandfathers’ side of the family. Not only were my ancestors bespoke guilds people, they also were a part of the now historical glass guilds from both Europe and the UK.

I was truly surprised to realise here I am in the 21st century working with glass as some of my ancestors had done before me. I discovered this with the help of my DNA cousin to find out about my origins and our connections. We had met online 5 years earlier and had stayed in touch through our love of glass. We had more in common than either of us knew and was a wonderful surprise to discover.

As an educator I have many years of experience. I have been trained by master craftspeople including the late Ann Dybka (recipient of the Australia Council Emeritus Award and Order of Australia, she was the first glass artist to receive these awards and was nominated by me), as an apprentice in Architectural Glass and through my studies at the ANU School of Art under the late Klaus Moje. I have always reciprocated my learning experiences, giving back to community through teaching and lecturing on a variety of subjects.