The Future of Neon – Katie Huskie

Average Read Time: 6 minutes

Origin Story

Katherine Huskie started her adventure with glass in Sunderland, studying Glass and Ceramics at the University from 2006 to 2009. She swiftly moved to Wiltshire to apprentice at the liquid glass centre, now the Glass Hub. A year turned into two years, and then Katherine was off jet-setting on another glass adventure, working with several artists across the continent of Australia.

After returning to the UK, Katherine partnered with James Devereux to launch Devereux & Huskie in September 2013, marking this year as the 10^th anniversary (we expect bubbly and balloons)!

Katherine’s first range soon emerged, titled ‘Otty’, which was based around the reflective qualities of glass and how having a larger solid piece of glass and a bubble will reflect the pattern into the centre, creating a depth of repeating patterns which draws the viewer in, utilising the Swedish overlay technique.

Katherine’s most successful and notable works are the series titled ‘Echinus’, the textured work that started around 2016/17, which sent her into a vast creative discovery of texture, pattern and form. Having her creative studio gave her this amount of time to experiment, which since 2016 – has propelled her to become one of the finest contemporary glassblowers.

Being a glassblower is being comfortable in the uncomfortable

Katie Huskie

Experimental Making

Katherine recently demoed at our latest exhibition opening, PROCESS//DRIVEN, where she demonstrated a new experimental piece, reminiscent of Katherine’s latest neon and bending techniques, culminating in repetitive pattern and texture across a soft cone form. 

This new work is in its early stages which will need refining. But Katherine reflects that ‘most of my other ranges, like the Cassito, the Echinus, the Ostreum, they’re well established now, which means I can make them in response to need for shows, galleries and events. This then allows me time to push this new idea.’

Katherine has launched a new series of Borosilicate Jewellery, titled Curlicue, which pushes this material further into wearable artwork, with new pieces coming soon…

Géros and Neos

Neon came out of the blue for Katherine, she had her first encounter with Neon via a three-day masterclass at the International Festival Glass in 2019, and the endless possibilities fueled her mind.

As well as the difficulty on the technical side, you need several other strings to your bow, which not many artists have. Neon comes from the Greek Neos, meaning ‘new’ (Teatime teaser for what the first word in the above title means), which is quite apt for a craft that has only been around 120 years. First isolated by chemists Sir William Ramsey and Morris Travers in 1898, French Engineer Jean Claude converted this new-found science into the first recognised sign for commercial advertising, patenting this creation in 1910. The first recorded neon lighting was for the Paris Motor Show in 1911 (pictured below). That started a trend which would engulf the world in light.

Flashforward 120 years, and it’s appeared as an endangered craft, indicated on HCA’s red list. At one time, neon was aglow in the North of England, with the centre for Neon Sign making ‘being West Yorkshire, where at one time there were around two dozen workshops – but now about six or seven. Oldham Signs in Leeds was the largest neon fabricator in Europe at one point. Its neon department closed in 1994, and its makers were displaced to either set up their own workshops or leave the industry. However, the company continued to supply general signage till 2003.’ – Heritage Crafts Association.

Katherine thinks more exposure is needed to connect remaining workshops to artists, shifting the old mindset to the new and enabling cross-over works. This can be a tricky process if you go it alone, because you need several areas of knowledge to translate your ideas into neon. Katherine works with a Master neon maker Adrian Gates, who does all the filling of her pieces; he also shares his knowledge, translating into Katherine’s works.

But the more exhibitions that are showing neon and the more people are exposed to it; that’s where it becomes exciting. Most recently at our show PROCESS, we exhibited Katherine’s work ‘Distorted Illusions’; within the frame there are multi-coloured layers of neon and in front is a hot sculpted and fused glass tile which refracts the light and makes the viewer want to look closer. As you move around the artwork, the light seems to move and dance; the more you look – the more you see. The hot glass panel draws on Huskies’ personal aesthetic of repetitive patterns and texture; it is a homage to her blown glass art. 

All art is unique and no two pieces in an edition are identical
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Most recently, in a PROCESS online talk, ‘The Contemporary Glass Society – Past, Present and Future’ Sue Purser Hope noted that Neon is one of many promising technological futures for Glass. With new exhibitions in Neon opening in Tacoma and upcoming masterclasses –this is a step in the right direction for the future of this craft, which will hopefully bring new and younger collectors to extend the legacy of this craft.

Next Steps

Next up for Katherine is an exciting scholarship at Pilchuck Glass School in Seattle, which will see her learn from Husband-and-Wife team Jen Elek and Jeremy Bert, who she learned from at Urban Glass in New York in 2019. Jen is a Glassblower and artist who has worked with renowned artists such as Lino Tagliapietra and Dale Chihuly. Jeremy is a renowned Neon Artist; he re-appropriates the refuse of the sign industry – reclaiming commercial waste for something enriching for the community.

Dream Project

Katherine’s five-year goal would be to have a solo show and to be represented in America. A dream project for Katherine would be to work on a large-scale installation or series of works for a luxury Hotel.

We can’t wait to see more of Katherine’s evolving practice!

Written by 

Leanne O’Connor 

Blowfish Glass UK ©