University of Edinburgh Glass Guild

Induction to Digital fabrication workshops for our digital crafting students - great lay out of work to show the vast creative possibilities of the kit

One week since the Edo Kiriko symposium held at on Friday the 8th of October - it was such a pleasure to welcome all our speakers and guests from wide and far!

The day of the Edo Kiriko symposium with speakers Sally Haden, Prof. Aaron William Moore, Toru Horiguchi, Dr Jill Turnbull, Dr Jessamy Kelly, Chris Blade & Alison Kinnaird. With special thanks to & .j.rothwell for chairing the sessions. It was a great pleasure to welcome so many guests to to discuss the historical glass cutting connections between Scotland and Japan and to consider the future of glass cutting in the UK.

Day 3 glass cutting workshop with Toru Horiguchi a third generation master craftsmen from Tokyo Japan

Day 2 glass cutting workshop with Toru Horiguchi a third generation master craftsmen from Tokyo Japan

Day 1 glass cutting workshop with Toru Horiguchi a thirds generation master craftsmen from Tokyo Japan

EDO KIRIKO Friday 8 Dec 2023 09:30 - 17:30 followed by a drinks event 6-8pm GMT Edinburgh College of Art. This one day symposium is led by ECA in partnership with the Horiguchi-Kiriko glass studio based in Tokyo, Japan. A studio specialising in Edo-Kiriko, a traditional type of Japanese cut crystal.
The symposium will host a range of speakers, a live demonstration of glass cutting (with an object handling session) and an object showcase at ECA. This event revolves around the internationally famed Japanese glass master Toru Horiguchi. The symposium hopes to trigger debate and discourse around the lost art of crystal cutting in the UK. The event aims to introduce Edo-Kiriko, Japanese cut crystal to new audiences and act as a catalyst for a new material cultural exchange between Scotland and Japan.
This project is driven by the historical glassmaking connections between these two countries, which will draw upon a joint history that dates to the 1870s-1880s when three glassmakers from Scotland helped the Japanese modernise their glass industry. With their advice, assistance and instruction in all kinds of modern Western-style glassmaking, Japan’s first truly industrial glass factory was established in Tokyo. Included in this pioneering project was the country’s first workshop for the direct transmission of Western-style cutting and engraving skills.
The symposium will address the shared material culture and heritage that exists between these two glassmaking countries and the losses that the now diminished UK glass scene faces. New perspectives on the value of exchanging and sharing intangible cultural heritage will be explored through the transference of specialist glassmaking knowledge, skills and meaning. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/edo-kiriko-the-art-of-japanese-cut-crystal-tickets-731323176307

Excellent debate and discussion from from the University of Wolverhampton and Doctoral alumni from talking about:
Where to Next? The State of Glass Education in the UK

A few of us representing ECA Glass at the Society of Glass Technology 2023 History & Heritage panel at Cambridge with drinks on the lawn and dinner at Corpus Christie

demonstrating mould making in our plaster workshop to masters students

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