The Gallery & Glass studio
Setsuko Ogishi Art Glass Studio is one of only a few glassblowing studios in Australia, and is the only one in the Hunter Valley which is open to the public. Setsuko's first studio was established in 1987 in Wollombi, New South Wales, and moved to Rothbury in 1999.
Ogishi Craft Centre Gallery
Location, Trading Hours
The Gallery is attached to our Glass Studio. The Gallery exhibits and sells our glass as well as a variety of other quality crafts and is open to the public on weekends from 11am-4pm, and other times by appointment.
Situated in the heart of Hunter Valley Wine Country in the state of New South Wales, Australia, the studio and gallery are about a 2 hour drive from Sydney and a 1 hour drive from Newcastle. The address is: Ogishi Craft Centre, Corner of Wine Country Drive and Wilderness Road, Rothbury NSW 2320. 5 minutes from Wine Country Visitors Information Centre.
Setsuko Talking about Glass Blowing
Glass cools down and gets hard very quickly. When it’s hot (around 1,000°C), it moves and falls off towards the ground, as is the nature of gravity. Glass does not wait for us - once we start making a piece we have to complete this hot work process in reasonable time before the artist is exhausted. We cannot walk away in the middle of making a piece to have a break for a cup a coffee. We have to finish the blowing process.
Glassblowing is like playing music or sports.
The glassblower needs to practice nearly everyday to keep her skills and improve - even after twenty years experience there is always something to learn and new things to discover. Glassblowing is teamwork. Most pieces need more than two hands and sometimes four people or more work together to make one piece.
There are lots of steps in the process. The glassblowing itself is a small part of the whole process. Prior to blowing, I sometimes spend a day mixing my colours to create the look I want. The preparation and finishing work needed to complete a piece takes a huge amount of time and, of course attention, to detail.
After so much practice and experience my hands work seemingly automatically to complete the process, but as an Artist I give love and care (also passion) to the piece every time, every moment, even if I make a similar piece a hundred times, similar to sporting champions if they want to win the game, or musicians if they truly want to make people happy. Glass has a mind of its own, but glass is also a reflection of the artist.
Purchasing our glass and taking it home with you, or giving it to someone is spreading our love and passion which is embodied in the piece. We hope you feel it......
Setsuko Ogishi Art Glass Studio
Copyright © 2006,2007 by Setsuko Ogishi Art Glass Studio.
All rights reserved.
