After 9 years of teaching hot glass at Sunderland University, Muir set up his own studio in 1999 with the main objective to solely concentrate on his own work. Graham creates glass that holds the viewer captive through its sheer audacious beauty and not simply via 'good looks' alone, the artist feels, there has to be more. With his ‘Wave’ series, he exploits gravity and the way in which the soft, molten glass responds, no mean feat as often both this physical force combined with such an unpredictable material can have their own ideas.

In his own words:

'I find glass to be a material that does not respond well to being dominated by the artist. For me the concept of the work is just the starting point for a conversation between the artists idea and the material. The artist flags up the idea, the medium responds and the discussion begins. However the material must not dominate proceedings either and hot glass, as most who work in it know, can be very persuasive in having its own way. This is where technical skill plays its part. I have discovered in my efforts to instil these qualities into my work that my ideas have moved far from the traditional glassmaking I was taught at Art College. I have been required to develop new techniques, resurrect and adapt some old ones to move on from the inevitable constraints on form that glassblowing produces.'