Felicity Smith - 2007 John Olsen Scholar
Currently attending the prestigious Julian Ashton Art School in Sydney, Felicity was recently awarded the school's sought-after John Olsen Scholarship, named in honour of the renowned Australian artist. The scholarship judges look for a student whose work portrays not only fine drawing skills but imaginative and inventive qualities.
As well as painting and drawing, Felicity is also an accomplished glass artist. After more than a decade of working in architectural (leadlight) glass, her focus is now on kiln-fired glass which involves casting and fusing different layers of glass together. The kiln is used to liquefy the glass under extremely high temperatures and then a gradual temperature reduction process to return the molten glass to a solid form. The fused piece then undergoes a second firing to "slump" it into a mould to produce the end product.
Both firings last about 22 hours each and temperature control is critical. The heating up and cooling down processes must be precisely calculated according to the design and materials used to ensure the glass expands and contracts at the same rate so that there are no internal stresses which can lead to breakages.
Born in Zimbabwe, Felicity spent her childhood years on the move. Her father was a civil engineer whose work took the family from Zimbabwe to East Anglia, Wales and later Ireland. Felicity migrated to Australia in 1988, working for a Brisbane glass studio at first and then opening her own studio. She moved to Boonah in 1997 and has a studio in the old Butter Factory building.