The Tephra Between Us

This body of work comes from ongoing research into volcanology, particularly how natural systems fracture, fuse, and reform under pressure. Each pair of vessels is connected by a fragile bridge of foamed glass material created through experiments that mimic volcanic gas escape and sintering processes.

The forms explore both connection and rupture. Though the vessels lean toward each other, the space between them holds the most tension. The foamed bridges are delicate, almost failing, yet still holding.

This work speaks to how material or emotional bonds are tested under strain. Sometimes they survive. Sometimes they don’t. The trace of that contact remains—fractured, stretched, and altered by the forces it endured.

By working with materials and processes that reflect geologic behaviour, this series links personal experience with planetary action. It’s about transformation, fragility, and the moments held in the space between.

Blown glass with foamed glass bridging, 2025

Photo credit: David Williams, Claire Louise Bird