Laura Quinn MSDC

Laura Quinn is a multi-award- winning artist known for innovative, contemporary glass sculpture. A graduate of the National College of Art and Design in 2015, she went on to complete her MA at Arts University Plymouth in 2019. Today she is Glass Technical Tutor at the University for the Creative Arts, Farnham, where she teaches and continues to refine her own practice. In 2025 she opened the her new Lampworking (Flameworking) studio near Reading, UK where she creates her work, and teaches the craft to others, as well as providing a space that artists, craftspeople and designers can come to use.

Her work challenges the perceived restraints of glass, encouraging close human interaction. Often modular, her pieces are composed of hundreds of individually handmade components, combined with digital technologies and alternative soft materials. This allows the glass to move, flex and be repaired, making it both more durable and more sustainable. The result is a body of interactive sculpture that playfully subverts expectations of fragility.

Quinn’s work has been widely recognised, with recent highlights including Collect Open 2022, Collect 2025 and the British Glass Biennale in 2022 and 2024. She is a QEST Scholar, and her work is held in the OPW Irish State Art Collection and Ulster Museum.

Education

• 2023-2014 Post Graduate Certificate in Creative Arts Higher Education, University for the Creative Arts, UK

• 2022 Fellowship, Higher Education Authority, University for the Creative Arts, UK

• 2017-2019 MA 3D Design Crafts, Plymouth College of Art, UK

• 2011-2015 First Class Honours (1:1) Joint Bachelors of Arts(Hons) in Art and Design History and Craft Design (Glass), National College of Art and Design, Dublin

Professional Experience

Employment

April 2020- Present

• Glass Technical Tutor, University for the Creative Arts, Farnham, UK

October 2019-March 2020

• Lampworking Instructor, Plymouth College of Art, UK

January - May 2018

• Graduate Academic Assistant, 3D Design Crafts Plymouth College of Art, UK

January 2016- July 2017

• Glass Blowing and Studio Assistant, Loco Glass, Cirencester, UK

September- December 2015

• Studio Assistant, Olustvere Klaasikoda, Estonia

June- September 2015

• ‘Make Your Own’ Lampworking Workshop Teacher, The Corning Museum of Glass, NY

2013-2015

• Student Representative and Board Member, The Glass Society of Ireland

Exhibitions, Collections & Awards

Current & Past Exhibitions

October 2025

• Dovetail Exhibition, Vaughn's, New York Design Centre, New York, USA

March - April 2025

• Here We Are, As We Are, James Hockey Gallery, University for the Creative Arts, Farnham, UK

February - March 2025

• Collect Art Fair, Exhibited with QEST (Queen Elizabeth Scholarship Trust), Somerset House, London, UK

August- November 2024

• Biot International Glass Festival, France
• August- September 2024
• British Glass Biennale, Stourbridge, UK

February-May 2024

• QEST Showcase, Craft NI Gallery, Belfast, Northern Ireland. Curator Kim Mawhinney

October 2023

• TechX: Technique, James Hockey Gallery, University for the Creative Arts, Farnham, UK. Curator Dr. Loucia Manopoulou.

April-August 2023

• Ireland Glass Biennale, Dublin Castle, Dublin, Ireland. Curated by Dr. Caroline Madden. Dr. Caroline Madden.

June-July 2023

• Solstice Exhibition, London Glass Blowing, UK

May 2023

• Artefact, Design Centre Chelsea Harbour, exhibiting with QEST as part of London Craft Week, UK

April 2023

• Driven, Blowfish Glass, Stourbridge, UK

April 2023

• Process, Blowfish Glass, Stourbridge , UK

February-March 2023

• Online Edit (virtual), House on Mars gallery, Munich Jewellery Week, Germany

October 2022

• Vetro II, London Glass Blowing, London, UK

August-October 2022

• British Glass Biennale, The Glasshouse, Ruskin Mill, Stourbridge, UK

August 2022

• Biot International Glass Festival- Fashion Show. CIFD & DCCI Collaborative pieces with Helen Hayes and Leonora Ferguson, France

August 2022

• Conjuring Form, Design and Crafts Council Ireland’s Critical Selection Exhibition, National Design and Craft Gallery, Kilkenny, Ireland

July 2022

• Earth/ Sea/ Sky, Contemporary Glass Society’s exhibition curated by Cathryn Schilling at London Glass Blowing, UK

April-June 2022

• Joyful Reflections, Contemporary Glass Society’e exhibition at the New Ashgate, Farnham, UK

April 2022

• 21 Years: Golden Fleece Exhibition, Solstice Arts Centre, Navan, Ireland. Curated by Aisling Prior

February 2022

• Collect Open, Collect, Somerset House, London, UK

March-April 2021

• Rising Stars 2021, New Ashgate Gallery, Farnham , UK

September-November 2020

• Out of Isolation, University for the Creative Arts, Farnham, UK

July-October 2020

• Design and Crafts Council Ireland’s Connected, outdoor sculpture trail, Kilkenny, Ireland

October 2019-January 2020

• Ireland Glass Biennale, Dublin Castle, Ireland

February 2020

• Collect 2020, International Craft and Design Fair, Somerset House, London, UK

November 2019

• Arts Thread at Handmade Chelsea, London, UK

November 2019

• Portal 2019, Llantarnam Grange Arts Centre, Wales, UK

September 2019

• Plymouth College of Art, MA Degree Show, UK

June 2019

• New Designers 2019, London, UK

July 2015

• RDS National Craft Awards Exhibition, RDS, Dublin, Ireland

July 2015

• Brown Thomas ‘Create’ , Brown Thomas, Dublin, Ireland

June 2015

• BA Degree Show, National College of Art and Design, Dublin, Ireland

Public & Private Collections

April 2022

• Tacit Breath, Acquired by Senior Curator Kim Mawhinney for Ulster Museum’s permanent public collection.

November 2022

• Sisyphus Neckpiece & Armpiece, added to Northlands Creative (now closed) collection

June 2015

• Internal Flora, acquired for the OPW’s (Office of Public Works’) Irish State Art Collection

Awards and Achievements

Summer 2024

• Shortlisted Finalist for the inaugural QEST Sanderson Rising Star Award - 6 Finalists from over 180 nominations. London, UK
• Recipient of a Tutsek Stiftung Scholarship to attend a lampworking masterclass at Bildwerk Glass School, Frauenau, Germany

December 2022

• Selected as Queen Elizabeth Scholarship Trust Scholar, UK.

November 2022

• Winner of Exhibition Support, Future Makers Awards, Design and Crafts Council, Ireland.

October 2022

• Added to Homo Faber Guide as a Rising Star, International.

August 2022

• Selected for British Glass Biennale, Ruskin Glass Centre, UK

July 2022

• RDS National Craft Bursary Winner, Ireland

April 2022

Golden Fleece Award, Ireland

June 2021

• Selected Artist for the National Glass Centre Glass Prize 2021

March 2021

• Shortlisted for the RDS Craft Awards, Ireland

December 2020

• Awarded Future Makers Exhibition Support, Design and Crafts Council, Ireland

September 2019

• Principal’s Commendation, Plymouth College of Art, UK

July 2019

• Commendation, Contemporary Glass Society, UK

April 2019

• Shortlisted in Emerging Maker Category, Design and Crafts Council of Ireland Future Makers Awards, Ireland

July 2015

• Glass Society of Ireland Award for Innovation in Glass Making, RDS National Craft Awards, Ireland
• Emerging Glass Artist Award RDS National Craft Awards, Ireland

Conferences and Lecture Presentations

December 2024

• Like a Moth to a Flame, Artist Lecture, Contemporary Glass Society Discovery Day, V&A Museum, London, UK

May 2022

• Inspired in Glass, Panel Discussion, London Craft Week, V&A Museum, London, UK

May 2022

• International Glass Art Society Conference Lecture, Tacoma, USA

October 2020

• The Glass Virus ‘Making in Pandemic Time’, Online Seminar Series
• Plymouth College of Art, Visiting Artist, Online Lecture Series

May 2020

• International Glass Art Society Conference (moved online due to COVID)
• Design and Crafts Council Ireland, Online Masterclass Series

December 2019

• Ireland Glass Biennale Symposium, Emerging Glass Artist, Dublin Castle, Ireland

September 2019

• Making Futures International Conference, Plymouth College of Art, UK

September 2018

• Artisan! University West England, UK

Critical and Published Writing

2022

• “Neo-artisanal practice and the nostalgic: traditional makers’ identities, innovation and sustainability in neo-artisanal production” Chapter by Laura Quinn in The Artisan Brand: Entrepreneurship and Marketing in Contemporary Craft Economies, Eds. Jon Mulholland, Alessandra Ricci, Marta Massi

March 2021

• Sustainable Craft Design Approaches: Materiality as an Antidote for Materialism, Making Futures Journal 2019, Plymouth College of Art, UK

December 2014

• Mowlding her Future- Sadhbh Mowlds. Article in Glass Society of Ireland’s annual printed publication