What we call ourselves is in question. The jury is out on the absolute meanings of artist, craftsperson, designer. Surely labelling is old fashioned? Do we still seek new descriptions adequate to explain what we do; however necessary for communication, promotion and understanding? We don’t want to be definitive but sometimes we must. In 2018, Karen Bennett at QEST described me as a ‘vitreous artist’. This description has grown on me over time, as a way to describe the overlapping of glass techniques in my portfolio; for example through the use of enamels.

Environmental sustainability is increasingly an element we need to think about in our work. It’s quite a curve ball for some of our material processes, which can be high in embodied or process energy. When artistic works are of an individual or of a one-off nature, perhaps we can justify the fine specialist materials that are shipped around the world. It’s a choice but this is the era where we also need to think about alternatives. Looking to other mediums for inspiration, one might take to the Vivienne Westwood mantra of “buy less, choose well, make it last”.

Technology is changing fast, ideas alongside it, and sticking to a tradition must not be at the cost of the development of contemporary ways of working, or artistically expressing what we feel in today’s world. Taking stained glass as an example, it once filled a hole in an aperture we called a window, it became a luxury, and art with a message for those who could not read, moving on to its *potential as a fine art medium. Its traditional form still responds to our existing ancient architecture. Its contemporary artistic counterpart also reflects architectural progress. Today the glass is not just the window, it can be the building itself.

Tradition is always looming in the world of glass. It is common that craft and design turns to tradition to give it an anchor in history. Roots. Linking back to history gives us a sense of belonging which is useful, but each point in time has its own personal nadir in terms of practical, available and creative potential. We should make space for new traditions to emerge along the way, as in time honoured behaviour, creative ideas depart from the familiar.

Creatively, I hope there is no right or wrong answer to many of the above; we all see things differently. That’s the joy of being alive. As I said to a friend who wanted to show me the most beautifully decorated period room, explaining to me that it was the most perfect shade of blue; “it’s green!”