ZITA: large scale metals and blown glass? that sounds awesome, but i do notice you’re doing something different! the very first thing that caught my eye about your work is your use of texture and shadows. i love your use of knitted textiles, i think that’s really unique. can you explain a little bit about your process, what gave you idea for these pieces, and how you work your cloth into the glass?
EMMY: knitting is a huge part of my life not only in my creative practice. i see knitting as a real form of self care, it has gotten me through some really tough times in my life. i love to find new techniques and stitch combinations. you're right playing with light and the shadows is something i love to do. glass bends light in similar ways to water and i love to exploit its refractive qualities. when i moved to plymouth for university, i was so inspired by living by the sea for the first time in my life.
ZITA: i know exactly how that feels, having moved to scotland from a landlocked country… i love glass but i know so little about it - apologies for some of the more stupid questions about materials, but how did you even find out what was possible with this technique? is there anything you have to be really careful with? For instance, can you use anything for knitting, wouldn’t it melt or burn away from the hot temperatures?
EMMY: my knitted work started from very humble beginnings and was a real experimental journey. initially i was combining the glass and knitting by creating cosies for the outside of the glass using different materials. this led me to purposely finding ways of burning those textiles away in the hot glass process to leave residual patterns. somewhere amongst this i started experimenting with oxides and different metals. you're right though, combining glass that in its molten state is 1500 degrees centigrade and metals with a lower melting temperature can be tricky. i had varying results with different types and gauges of wire. my mum has a little collection of wobbly pieces that beautifully illustrate my journey to refining my technique of encasing knitted wire into blown glass. i also use my open lace knits as templates to create some of my work so it appears as if knitting is suspended in the blown glass when in fact the original piece of textile is no longer present. i secretly love how these pieces often baffle people.