{"id":2443,"date":"2016-03-24T16:47:33","date_gmt":"2016-03-24T16:47:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.heals.com\/blog\/?p=2443"},"modified":"2018-02-12T13:10:23","modified_gmt":"2018-02-12T13:10:23","slug":"in-the-studio-btu-studio","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.heals.com\/blog\/in-the-studio-btu-studio\/","title":{"rendered":"In the Studio: BTU Studio"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"BTU<\/a><\/h6>\n

As our Design Ireland<\/a><\/span> exhibition draws to a close, we catch up with Scott Benefield of BTU Studio to discuss his modern take on traditional Murano glassware.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Artist, educator and writer, Scott Benefield’s work descends from the Venetian traditions of glassblowing, which utilise the materials most essential aspects of transparency, saturated colours and fluidity. Working from his studio\u00a0in Randalstown, Co. Antrim, each piece is made using the ancient process of caneworking to add intricate patterns and stripes to blown glass.<\/p>\n

\u2014<\/span><\/strong><\/h1>\n

Tell us about the first piece you ever made?<\/b><\/p>\n

The first successful piece of production ware that I designed and made was for a company\u00a0called Studio Inferno, which was based in New Orleans, Louisiana. I was one year out of\u00a0school and it was a very simple vase that became the mainstay of that production line for\u00a0the next eight years.<\/p>\n

Where did you study or learn your craft?<\/b><\/p>\n

I received an MA from Ohio State University in glass, but most of the real technical study\u00a0came from working with masters from Murano in various workshop settings: in Venice, but\u00a0also at summer programs in the States specializing in glassblowing (Pilchuck Glass School,\u00a0Haystack Mt. School of Crafts, Penland School of Crafts).<\/p>\n

Tell us about your design process, how do you get started?<\/b><\/p>\n

Designs tend to evolve from previous successful designs\u2014a line of pouring bowls descended\u00a0from the success of a line of small jugs, for instance. There\u2019s always a good percentage of\u00a0new designs in each year\u2019s line, so that\u2019s a constant process.<\/p>\n

What is the inspiration behind your work?<\/b><\/p>\n

I look for inspiration at tableware in other media, historical work, studio glass from\u00a0around the world, etc.<\/p>\n

\"BTU<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/h6>\n

Do you have a design hero that influences your work?<\/b><\/p>\n

Archimede Seguso, who was my teacher\u2019s maestro on Murano back in the 1950s. He was very\u00a0skilled, very inventive, very successful and he worked in his studio into his nineties.<\/p>\n

Do you have a preferred material or process?<\/b><\/p>\n

I use traditional Venetian cane techniques that were first developed in the early 16th century\u00a0on Murano.<\/p>\n

What will you be doing as part of Design Ireland at Heal\u2019s?<\/b><\/p>\n

Since demonstrating glass blowing at Heal\u2019s isn’t practically possible, I have to limit myself\u00a0to supplying them with a range of work from my current line.<\/p>\n

Why do you think events such as this are important in promoting Irish design?<\/b><\/p>\n

I think it keeps the best work in the field in front of the public and helps displace the\u00a0cliched images of Irish design as claddagh rings and tweed caps. There\u2019s a misconception\u00a0that, in general, visual arts don\u2019t flourish here; but I’ve been consistently impressed with\u00a0the quality of contemporary craft and design in particular.<\/p>\n

\u2014<\/span><\/strong><\/h1>\n

If you’d like to take home one of Scott’s stunning pieces of modern glassware, visit the\u00a0Design Ireland exhibition at our\u00a0Tottenham Court Road<\/a><\/span>\u00a0store.\u00a0To keep up to date with our busy calendar of demos, workshops and talks make sure to check our events page by clicking the button below.<\/p>\n

What’s on?<\/a><\/p>\n

Back to top<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As our Design Ireland exhibition draws to a close, we catch up with Scott Benefield of BTU Studio to discuss his modern take on traditional Murano glassware. Artist, educator and writer, Scott Benefield’s work descends from the Venetian traditions of glassblowing, which utilise the materials most essential aspects of transparency, saturated colours and fluidity. Working […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2446,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2443","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-style-tips"],"yoast_head":"\nIn the Studio: BTU Studio - Heal's Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"As our Design Ireland exhibition draws to a close, we catch up with Scott Benefield of BTU Studio to discuss his take on traditional Murano glassware.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.heals.com\/blog\/in-the-studio-btu-studio\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"In the Studio: BTU Studio - Heal's Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"As our Design Ireland exhibition draws to a close, we catch up with Scott Benefield of BTU Studio to discuss his take on traditional Murano glassware.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.heals.com\/blog\/in-the-studio-btu-studio\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Heal's Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Heals\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2016-03-24T16:47:33+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2018-02-12T13:10:23+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.heals.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/btustudiofeature.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"645\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"450\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Heal's\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@heals_furniture\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@heals_furniture\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Heal's\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.heals.com\\\/blog\\\/in-the-studio-btu-studio\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.heals.com\\\/blog\\\/in-the-studio-btu-studio\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Heal's\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.heals.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/a93e0bdf46a88f2908bad68eb6f4a366\"},\"headline\":\"In the Studio: BTU Studio\",\"datePublished\":\"2016-03-24T16:47:33+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2018-02-12T13:10:23+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.heals.com\\\/blog\\\/in-the-studio-btu-studio\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":530,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.heals.com\\\/blog\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.heals.com\\\/blog\\\/in-the-studio-btu-studio\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.heals.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2016\\\/03\\\/btustudiofeature.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Tips\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.heals.com\\\/blog\\\/in-the-studio-btu-studio\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.heals.com\\\/blog\\\/in-the-studio-btu-studio\\\/\",\"name\":\"In the Studio: BTU Studio - 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