focusinterview.
R NE COR
Steve Lynn. What started rted out as an idea for Christmas presents grew into an all consuming passion for Steve. His fascination with the intricate process of light playing through glass has seen his collection grow in scope ...
hat originally brought you to Port Macquarie – or were you born and bred here? I had just done 43,000 km in 9 months working with computers from Newcastle to Wollongong to the Blue Mountains and needed some changes in my life, so I escaped the rat race in 2000 in a motorhome. I planned on 2 years travel around Australia but circumstances changed and I only visited a couple of places on the way up the coast, arriving in Port Macquarie, where I touched base with a few friends, ending up selling the RV and buying a unit and settling down. And I’m glad I did, having just married a beautiful local lady, Wendy. How did your fascination with paperweights begin? I started by buying gifts for Christmas 2007 (paperweights) and loved them lined up on my TV cabinet waiting to be wrapped, so I went back and bought myself 8 more. I quickly figured (not sure why) that a large number was a good thing and knowing nothing about the ancients or the art or class of the old school, I started with modern weights available through gift shops in our area. Our local area is not a bastion for paperweights and I had the choice of Chinese or Chinese. Not to put too fine a point on it, I started with modern Chinese weights. Then I discovered op shops, antique stores and markets and branched out into more, you guessed it, Chinese weights, with the odd import from Scotland, America or home grown in Australia. I started collecting Australian Art Glass a year ago, as I was fascinated by the level of expertise and the unique pieces our own artists were producing. Describe the very first paperweight you consciously ‘collected’ – what does it look like, 14 greater port macquarie focus.
and when and how did you acquire it? I remember two weights I intentionally sought, as they are representative of our Australian artists. In the photos I hold ‘Tangerine Dream’ by Kent Le Grand and ‘Inland Orb’ by Marc Kalifa. Kent persevered with one arm (no mean feat with the rigours of glass blowing) to produce that beautiful feathered spiral, and Marc has captured the inland of Australia in a series of vases, bowls and weights with the vibrant clashes of colour we often witness. What types of materials are your paperweights mostly constructed from? I collect only glass items, as it allows the full palette of colours to be reflected or magnified by the medium. The formula for glass varies for individual makers and is a closely guarded secret. Paperweights can be glass, ceramic, wood, metal, even paper, plastic and weighted cloth, but for me, nothing compares to light through glass. Is your collection still growing these days, and where do you find is the best place to source the items? Yes, It is still growing but because of display constraints, it will soon become a matter of one purchase, one sale (or 1 in 1 out) − radical but necessary. Most items are from auction houses or online auctions such as eBay. I still trawl antique and second hand shops, but only buy bargains. I funded a lot from selling stuff I found in my garage. It is a low budget collection. What can you tell readers about the history of paperweights – do you know where/when some of the earliest ones date from, and during which era they were most popular, for example? There are two eras in which paperweights were produced: the ‘classical’ period, 1845 to 1860, and the modern period, from about 1950 to the present day. The antiques were produced mostly in three factories in France: Baccarat, St. Louis, and Clichy. The original French glass paperweight
passion lasted about 25 years; after which, the objects fell out of vogue, and the intricate process for creating them was virtually lost. Then in the 1950s, Paul Jokelson, an enthusiastic collector of antique weights, convinced the factories from his native France to re-invent the technique. The result is a renaissance of the most difficult of all glass art forms − the contemporary glass paperweight, which in many ways exceeds the brilliance and complexity of its predecessors. Great Britain, Europe and America started producing high quality weights as well. Art glass in Australia really commenced in the ’70s after visits from prominent American artists running workshops that produced some very talented Australians. Some prominent glass blowers migrated and further swelled our talent pool. If you had to nominate a piece in your collection that was a favourite – what would it be? See the photo of the vase covered with vines and roses. It was made by Martini Australia in 1995. It’s more like a usable sculpture and is 11" high. Martini Australia was the business name of a partnership between Mark Galton and Tina Cooper from the early to mid-1990s operating firstly out of the craft works in the Old Ginger Factory at Buderim and then later at the Treehaven Way Studio at Maleny, both in SE Qld. Both artists have gone on to successful individual careers. It is a time capsule from a short creative period in the ’90s. Are you a member of any collectors clubs or groups? I’m a member of the Paperweight Collectors Association, NZ/Aust branch and am a member of Glass Forums & Glass Message Board on the internet. Several of my weights have been used as illustrations in articles on ‘Paperweights of Australia’ by our NZ President in PCA yearly bulletins. I also rely on an extensive resource library of books and magazines for info.
How relevant do you feel paperweights are in modern times – are they still readily manufactured and available these days? They are no longer really used to stop paper from blowing off the desk, but they can be. They have now been elevated to objects of beauty, conversation starters and the basis of rewarding collections. My collection of paperweights and art glass now seeks to show some of the huge number of Australian glass artist and their skills. I also have paperweights from Britain, Europe, USA, NZ and some really nice ones from China. They continue to be manufactured in a huge variety, all over the globe. What’s a piece you’d love to have in your collection, but haven’t been able to source yet? I have had in mind to collect at least one piece from each glass artist in Australia but as there are well over 400 individual artists, I know that it is a very tall order and probably not possible as artists come and go, and many works just disappear. I would love a representative piece from those I haven’t collected yet: a quirky perfume bottle by Nick Mount, a unique creation by Emma Varga, Tina Cooper or a fish perfume bottle by Richard Clements, would be amongst them. You can see some of my collection at www. paperweightpassion.com I would love to start a 'glass appreciation group' and meet locals interested in Glass, Australian Art Glass and Paperweights. If you are interested, you can contact me through the website. Thanks Steve. Interview by Jo Atkins.
are you a collector? We want to know about you! Let us know what you collect, and you might just be our next Collectors Corner guest! e. louise@focusmag.com.au ph. (02) 6584 7433.