Nina Casson McGarva
1990, United Kingdom
Born in Gloucester in England, Nina Casson McGarva grew up in rural central France in the middle of the Burgundy countryside. Surrounded by a family of creatives & makers and growing up in an environment full of nature and craft, definitely influenced her life and artwork.
In her own words:
“The starting point in my work is nature and the details to be within various natural subject matter. Using this as my inspirational base I then abstract the forms found, building them into my own complex sculptures. I am particularly inspired by the cycles found in nature, as I see parallels with glass, as the material goes through a cycle, being most alive when hot and capable of transformation. By contrast, once cooled it is solid and fixed, no longer fluid and capable of movement.
There is a fragile moment in time that can be found in rich structures such as skeletal dry leaves, discarded feathers and weather-worn sea shells, to me these are dynamic forms that I aim to emulate.
As part of my making process, I shape my glass whilst hot in an open kiln, there is a narrow window of time for me to work, before the glass becomes too cooled and will no longer move. Once solid and cold, the glass is transformed into the finished piece.”
McGarva trained, learning the basic technical skills of glass blowing, at the Ecole Nationale du Verre Jean Monnet (a technical college for workers in crystal glass factories) and at the Glass and Ceramics Workshop on Bornholm (part of the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts) where she started to use other glass techniques such as casting, fusing and experimenting with several new processes. Since graduating in 2014, McGarva has been on three notable Artist residency programs;
Shin-nagata glass residence Kobe, Japan (2019) | Eair Program at Pilchuck Glass school in Stanwood, WA, USA (2015) | Starworks in Star, NC, USA (2014)
Casson McGarva has shown her work throughout Europe and in the USA. Most recently, she was selected as one of 60 artworks for the Toyama International 2024 Glass Exhibition.
In her own words:
“The starting point in my work is nature and the details to be within various natural subject matter. Using this as my inspirational base I then abstract the forms found, building them into my own complex sculptures. I am particularly inspired by the cycles found in nature, as I see parallels with glass, as the material goes through a cycle, being most alive when hot and capable of transformation. By contrast, once cooled it is solid and fixed, no longer fluid and capable of movement.
There is a fragile moment in time that can be found in rich structures such as skeletal dry leaves, discarded feathers and weather-worn sea shells, to me these are dynamic forms that I aim to emulate.
As part of my making process, I shape my glass whilst hot in an open kiln, there is a narrow window of time for me to work, before the glass becomes too cooled and will no longer move. Once solid and cold, the glass is transformed into the finished piece.”
McGarva trained, learning the basic technical skills of glass blowing, at the Ecole Nationale du Verre Jean Monnet (a technical college for workers in crystal glass factories) and at the Glass and Ceramics Workshop on Bornholm (part of the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts) where she started to use other glass techniques such as casting, fusing and experimenting with several new processes. Since graduating in 2014, McGarva has been on three notable Artist residency programs;
Shin-nagata glass residence Kobe, Japan (2019) | Eair Program at Pilchuck Glass school in Stanwood, WA, USA (2015) | Starworks in Star, NC, USA (2014)
Casson McGarva has shown her work throughout Europe and in the USA. Most recently, she was selected as one of 60 artworks for the Toyama International 2024 Glass Exhibition.
Public Collections
Imagine Museum St Petersburg, Florida, USA • The Glass Museum Lette, Germany
Exhibitions and further information
2021 Formed From Instinct Solo Exhibition • Formed From Instinct | An essay by Emma Park • Formed From Instinct Film
2019 Artist Showcase
Artist portrait courtesy of the artist.
Imagine Museum St Petersburg, Florida, USA • The Glass Museum Lette, Germany
Exhibitions and further information
2021 Formed From Instinct Solo Exhibition • Formed From Instinct | An essay by Emma Park • Formed From Instinct Film
2019 Artist Showcase
Artist portrait courtesy of the artist.
Artworks by the artist
