David Traub

I was born in New York and trained as a ceramic artist at East Texas State University. After leaving University I became intrigued with glass and set up my first studio in 1972 as a part of a small craft community. I started teaching myself glass, taking the occasional workshop, before going to England in 1984 to attend the Royal College of Art in London. A year later, I moved to the traditional centre of glass in England, completing a Masters degree at Stourbridge College of Art and Technology, while teaching at Staffordshire University.

In 1995 I took up the post of Head of Glass at Whanganui Polytechnic’s Quay School of the Arts. I ran the glass programme and developed the glass curriculum for the BFA degree. I loved teaching, and as an educator I felt that it was also important to continue to develop my work and art practice during those years. I’ve now left full time education so I can concentrate on establishing my own studio and fully developing my work as an artist.

I love glass - its inherent qualities; colour, light, transparency. Its qualities are so diverse that there’s room for everybody to be expressive without encroaching on ideas that have gone before. I like the glass dance -when I’m blowing glass I
Feel like Fred Astaire. For the last 7 years I’ve been blowing components, then fusing and slumping them so I can create works which combine my interest in abstract painting and my lifelong love of textiles. Using these techniques and influences, I’ve chosen the platter format to create objects that I see as three dimensional paintings