Thurso glass artist wins award and meets BBC celebrity Jay Blades at House of Lords event
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Thurso glass artist Ian Pearson said it was a "pleasant shock" to win a prestigious award at a recent event held in London.
Ian was lauded as Volunteer of the Year at the Heritage Crafts awards event held in the House of Lords on January 30 where many artists and specialist craftspeople congregated.
“It was a pleasant shock to win as the other nominees were all equally suited for the Volunteer of the Year award so I felt very humbled to receive it,” said Ian.
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Having retired from his position as a scientific glassblower at Dounreay, Ian won the award for his voluntary work in that field of expertise and was delighted to be shortlisted for the glitzy event. He also met celebrity craftsman Jay Blades who is famous for presenting the popular BBC show The Repair Shop as well as Money for Nothing, Jay Blades Home Fix and co-presenting Jay and Dom's Home Fix. He was at the event in his position as co-chair of Heritage Crafts.
Ian said: "I had watched Repair Shop on BBC and loved the programme so felt it was a privilege to meet its host Jay Blades MBE. He was very humble and appreciative of all the skills that the nominees showed. We spent a few minutes chatting about how to raise the profile of scientific glassblowing. He came across as very genuine."
Ian has served as editor of the British Society of Scientific Glassblowers (BSSG) journal for 38 years, as well as being Chair of the Society from 2002 to 2009. Apart from editing the journal, Ian deals with the companies that advertise in it, carries out scientific glassblowing demos on behalf of the BSSG as well as attending its council meetings. All this work is carried out voluntarily. Ian was trained as a scientific glassblower in Surrey before he started at Dounreay, taking charge of its scientific glass department in 1981.
Scientific glassblowing is recognised as being endangered by Heritage Crafts. Ian said: "The skills of scientific glassblowers are very specialised and the demands on the training expectations combined with the lack of facilities in the UK for training means there are diminishing numbers of skilled crafts people who can make scientific glassware."
The event at the House of Lords was sponsored by the Royal Mint and celebrated the traditional craft skills that contribute to the UK's national heritage.
