In October 2009 I had the pleasure of being invited to be a tutorial assistant at the Wanganui Glass School in the North Island, New Zealand. For this work experience I got to assist under Nigel Jones (a glass artist and glass teacher of many years) which alone has given me a valuable insight into teaching and into my own craft.

I got thrown into the action straight away, working with all three years, which helped teach me almost as much as I helped to teach. I was joining in on tutorials to develop the studuents designs answering any queries on making techniques and realising their designs in the medium of glass.

This process involved evaluating drawn designs for flaws and suggest ways to expand their approach to help them get the most out of their designs.

Another aspect involved giving demonstrations to the students to illustrate theories helping to students to see first hand how to achieve their own ends. As I was there for just over two weeks I got to see the development of a range of designs all approached from a unique and inventive perspective. This helped me to broaden my own perspective and approaches to new avenues of glass artistry.

The student from all three years were using a range of glass making techniques. As my main focus is on sculptural blown glass I got to see new possibilities in other areas of the craft such as Sand Casting, Cold Finishing, Cane Work, Incalmo, Free-form and Optic Mould Work. This was an invaluable experience for me it helped me learn so much from both the students and from Nigel Jones.