Keith Mahy online gallery store

Artist Profile

I’ve always been interested in art for as long as I can remember, I’ve been drawing, painting and making things. The pursuit of this passion has taken me to Auckland University – Elam School of Fine Arts where I specialized in sculpture and 3D design. From there into an industry designing products in metal, plastic, paper and cardboard and after six years to Design Director of a large glass company. Among the companies many processes of forming glass by machine were the hand-shops. Hand-working glass fascinated me from the beginning and so I moved from industry to pursue this magic molten material with its brilliance colour transparency fluidity. The material is not an easy master/craft. It requires co-ordination quickness of the mind, determined perseverance and skill. Major influences on my work are the physical properties of the material itself and the way it moves as well as forms from nature.

I have built five studios since the move from industry including one that ran on gas produced from waste wood. The urge to share this accumulated experience took me to Northland Polytechnic for ten years as tutor in glass design and drawing. At present have two studios that I manage and work. Mahy Glass Studio – part of the burning issues complex in the Town Basin, Whangarei and Beachcomber Glass studio in Rarotonga.