It’s been a long time coming, the setting up of Megsie’s Atelier page. For many reasons – not least being competing priorities/distractions/responsibilities, yadda yadda (aka Life.) But in concert with her new work (the Surf and Turf series, particularly), we’re ready to launch the Armada de Megsie on its lengthy voyage of perpetual discovery. In short, she’s (re)found her creative flippers and is kicking off proper in her favourite stroke; the great Australian Crawl (…that’s freestyle to anyone under 50.)
While all of her work is for sale (hello!), it’s clearly not of the casual ‘throw in the virtual shopping cart and send in general freight’ variety of goods. Conversations need to be had and appropriate arrangements made for safe handling and delivery. But if you’re a glass collector, you already know this. And you also already know that Studio Glass is seriously exxy. No getting around it, darlings – it is what it is.
The ‘exhibition’ work is clearly at the high end and, consequently, bleeds into the four figure range (POA for those genuinely interested.) This includes the Surf and Turf series, the Owl and the Pussycat series, the Yardbird (Chevron) series, The Stringybark series, and so on.
For those looking for a more affordable alternative we offer the closest we get to a production line (given that everything is hand made); kiln-fused glass and silver earrings (Ginger makes the findings), the recycled Crownie carafes and the lost wax cast Australian lead crystal oyster shells (though these are actually more mid-range to high-end in price once you get into multiples…but then again, if you buy a dozen, two of them are free!)
And there’s more on the drawing board for further down the track, so please watch this space.
Armada de Megsie:
Surf and Turf, lost wax cast Australian lead crystal
(FYI: as a matter of principle Megsie uses Blackwood Crystal for her cast works; it’s her glass of choice, made in Ned Kelly country by the inimitable master alchemist James Thompson – what’s not to love.)
Statement about the work:
My work is often driven by humour and narrative, in a melding of material and vernacular. Like most artists I’m informed by the universal, often imponderable, compass points of life ‒ but my overriding interest lies in the Australian voice; sometimes strident, sometimes worn soft by self-effacement, sometimes lyrical, but always observational.
Ostensibly the new series, Surf and Turf, is an ode to the Far South Coast of NSW where I live and practice; a visual aggregate of the agrarian coastal culture (not least being the local blokes’ pub meal of choice!) But of course the work is informed by a rich layering of influence.
There’s something in the serenity of this moo cow setting out on an Odyssean voyage that I find unutterably charming. And it all rolls into one my love of storytelling, my love of the sea, my love of the mercurial properties of glass and last, but never least, my love of the kiln (as bearer of the gift of everlasting mystery.) Because I’m not interested in glass as a scientific calculation or as an intellectual exercise in abstruse academia – I look instead for the warmth of a deeper emotional connection.
The Cast of Characters (to date):
We’ve shown these in varying light, to give an idea of the shift of colour (and the glorious pop when hit by a shaft of sunlight.) Pieces are individually made and the nuanced palette of each can’t/won’t be replicated. Surf and Turf will be a limited edition of 25, period.
Owl and the Pussycat, lost wax cast Australian lead crystal
Yardbirds: don’t fence me in (chevrons), kiln–fused glass, vintage police fence palings
Random werx:
Megan Bottari, Love Child, teleo(phonic) morph: Channelling Sal (long distance call), lost wax cast Australian lead crystal, found object
Production lines (which are, by virtue of their handmade nature, largely limited edition in any case)
Lost wax cast Australian lead crystal oyster shells (top of the line)…
Great for oyster shooters! Or for serving a chic appetiser. Or – singly – for sea salt. Or for whatsoever purpose you may wish. 
Crownie carafes…
For the environmentally conscious (recycled, sandblasted and fire polished.)
Yardbird earrings: kiln-fused glass and silver…
Taster of an ever-changing range. Dimensions variable.
Please feel free to contact us regarding not only the above but also any work shown on the Prisoner of the Crown website that may have piqued your interest.
Prisoners of the Crown 