Summary

Exploring, pushing boundaries and having fun with glass blowing feeds into very area of my practice. The Bubblefish bowl is a blown sculptural work exploring the optics when combined with water through this exciting transparent material. This playful creation of the internal environment provides for a fascinating, living feature for both the owner and its inhabitants.

The Bubblefish bowl is 400mm x 400mm and holds approximately 40 litres of water.

Organisation

Philip Stokes Studio Glass

Team

Philip Stokes
Scott Redding
Caleb Pritchard

Inspiration/Method

I was inspired by the fish themselves and especially those with the bulbous eyes. I wanted to break away from the traditional fish tank; to create a fully functional, living sculpture.

The method employed to create the Bubblefish bowl is from the immediate and exciting process of hot glass. It’s all about team work and timing when we blow glass, especially with large scale works like this. Once the core form has been blown the skilled assistants deliver gathers of hot glass to create the external bubbles. The transparency of the material and the optics it provides by filling it with water is a playful exchange between two materials with similar properties.

Design Challenge

Hot glass poses endless challenges and I am always intrigued with the outcomes. The design challenge was to create something original, interactive, playful and living. This project has brought together my craft as a glass maker and the reinvention of an existing homeware. The project was so much fun that we made a YouTube video and hope you enjoy Bubblefish the Movie as much as we enjoyed making it!