Antonia MacGregor designs and makes glass work using traditional cold glass construction methods to create simple contemporary designs for one-off commissions and exhibitions. Her imagery is often drawn from the natural surfaces and forms of leaves, weeds and flowers found in her over grown garden.

"In pursuit of greater simplicity I have recently started to explore the use of ultra-violet glues to bond and sandwich coloured glass within clear sheets, and sandblasting designs to create dimension and texture in the surface of the glass. Sandblasting involves cutting images out of vinyl which is then stuck onto glass and used to resist the high pressure blast of fine sand. I usually cut the vinyl by hand, giving personal expression and allowing for spontaneity. However, if an image needs to be repeated many times or great accuracy is required, the task can become arduous.

Through Repeat and Variation I was interested in finding practical alternative production methods for cutting vinyl resists as well as more direct methods of translating digital photographs of plants into imagery for cutting.Through the Repeat and Variation demo day I become aware that digital technologies could not only enable the repetition of designs, but could also be used in creative ways.

During the workshop week I used Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Illustrator to create complex image outlines that I could cut out of vinyl using the digital plotter cutter.   All the design work was done on screen and then fed to the cutter from the computer. I was also able to make use of the laser cutter for etching lines and details that are too fine for sandblasting. The laser cutter can also can be used to etch off sandblasted areas revealing the clarity of glass beneath. I have produced a number of samples using these technologies which are technically successful and visually intriguing. In particular the digital cutting/etching enables tiny plant details to be reproduced giving my work an extra dimension I couldn't have achieved through hand cutting.

Repeat and Variation has given me a taste of the potential value of digital technologies, not only in creating repetitions and saving time, but allowing me to find other ways of creating an interesting end result - a more direct path from photograph to glass without too much interference from the hand!

The processes I have explored through Repeat and Variation will not replace the hand cutting techniques that I currently use, not least because I continue to like their qualities, but also because I've found I need more time to practice my newly acquired digital making skills than the demands of my continuing professional practice currently allow.

I need to build on what I've learnt in order to bring the digital and traditional cold glass production techniques closer together, but I am hopeful that this integration will bring unique qualities to future work."