Liam Reeves has been making glass professionally since 1998 when he graduated from Middlesex University with a BA (Hons) in three-dimensional design. During this time he has honed his skills whilst working in the glass industry for some of the best glassmakers in the UK. He is currently hot-glass technician at the prestigious Royal College of Art in London.
While at the RCA Liam discovered a passion for investigating pivotal techniques from glassblowing’s two-millennia of rich history. From the mould blowing of ancient Rome to the complex goblet-making techniques of Renaissance Venice and on to the finesse of factory manufactured glass after the Industrial revolution.
He has demonstrated these techniques widely for public events, Universities and museums including the Victoria & Albert Museum in London.
In 2009 Liam studied for an MA at the RCA in order to explore the creative possibilities of the medium of glassblowing. A large part of these studies took the form of an investigation into ways in which the historical techniques that he found so inspiring could be put into a contemporary context.
In his own words:
'As technology advances, the ways that we perceive, understand, and influence the world around us are changing. As more aspects of human experience permeate through a filter of electronic manipulation, actual experience becomes entwined with the virtual. Through the use of digital tools, it becomes possible to understand form in terms of mathematical co-ordinates, existing only in a theoretical space. In parallel, the concept of craftsmanship itself is also transforming; skill in using digital media is being equated with skill in manipulating molten glass or other materials.'