Kathleen Buckley
The creative flow has inspired my life as far back as I can remember. Around 9, I began writing poetry, attending performance art camps, and participating in local theatre productions. I was born and raised in St. John's, Newfoundland. I studied Sociology and English at Memorial University while dabbling in theatre, visual arts, zines, writing, percussion and making hemp necklaces in the vibrant downtown arts community.
In 1997, at 21, I travelled to India on a Canada World Youth cultural exchange. I spent four months living in the village of Vaso in the western province of Gujarat. India's traditions of quality craftsmanship immensely inspired me, and I left the country fuelled with a desire to find my way toward a creative life. I decided to travel west to British Columbia and, by serendipitous chance, found myself sharing a home with lampworking glassblowers.
My first effort on the torch in the summer of 1998 was a series of 'mushroom' marbles that looked more like tadpoles. Welded together, they made a pretty large marble. Immediately I was incited with a passionate inspiration by the infinite creative possibilities and beautiful light effects that could be made by lampworking borosilicate glass. I began an apprenticeship with glassblower Pee Jay Taylor and devoted myself to the craft with a vision of infusing my hands with the capacity to create beautiful glass.
I returned to St. John's in the summer of 1999 and set up shop in various locations, selling my early work at Hempware and local festivals like the Peace-A-Chord. My son Lorne was born there in May of 2000. As much as I love my home community, I miss BC! I kept having dreams of friends in the tall trees and ferry transits. I returned with my son in the winter of 2004, living in Coombs for a season before moving to Galiano Island.
I've been living on Galiano ever since, where I have raised my son, continued blowing glass, and painted my home studio bright yellow. I work with several select stores across the country, regularly sell at the Galiano Saturday Market and have participated in the Great Canadian Glass Gathering. I post my work regularly on my Instagram @cre8glass and can be contacted directly at cre8glassworks@gmail.com. Thank you for your interest in my work.
