Biography > Education and Professonal Experience
Education and Professional Experience
1948 Born Whitehead, County Antrim, Northern Ireland. Nationality, British.
1965-1968 Apprenticed Linen Damask Designer, William Ewart and Son Ltd., Belfast.
1965-1968 Intensive drawing classes, Belfast College of Art.
1965-1968 Awarded, 1st, City and Guilds Certificate, Woven Textile Technology, Belfast College of Technology.
1968 Four months crewing with fishing trawler, Vestmannjar, Iceland.
1968-1969 Foundation Certificate in Art and Design from the Hornsey College of Art, London.
1969 Four-month student exchange to the United States of America, Drove from New York to Los Angeles.
Worked for May Co. Wilshire Boulevard. Drove from Los Angeles to Vancouver.
1969-1971 Diploma in Art and Design (Dip. AD) Sculpture and Drawing, The Walthamstow School of Art, London.
1970 Season touring Norway with Circus Berny.
1971 Worked for Kastrup and Holmegaards Glassworks, Nestved, Denmark.
1971-1973 Master of Arts Degree, Royal College of Art, London.
1972 Awarded travelling scholarship to the Iittala Glassworks, Finland.
1973-1974 Living in the Greek Islands and Turkey.
1974 Set up studio, Phipp Street, London.
1975 Travelled through Kenya, Zambia, Tanzania, Malawi, Rhodesia, Botswana, and South Africa.
Executed series of drawings for Piccadilly Gallery Exhibition, London (1976).
1974-1975 Lecturer at the Hornsey College of Art in drawing.
1976-1977 Lecturer at the Middlesex Polytechnic in the Foundation Department.
1977-1984 Visiting lecturer at the Royal College of Art, London.
1978 Living in Mustique, West Indies, Visited St. Vincent, Barbados, Granada, Martinique, Trinadad and Tobago.
1978 Lecturer at the Royal College of Art, London.
1980- 1984 Senior Lecturer at the Royal College of Art, London.
1980 First Class Passage on Cunard’s, Queen Elizabeth 2, Southhampton- New York.
Sculptural works for the Heller Gallery Show shipped in the hold.
1984 Set up studio, West 57th Street, New York.
1984 Instructor at the Pilchuck Glass School, Stanwood, Washington, (1985, 1988, 1989, 1991, 1993.)
1985 Set up studio and glass casting facility, Worship Street, London.
1991-1996 Visiting Professor of Fine Art.
Chair of the Glass Program at the California College of Arts and Crafts, Oakland, California.
1996 Tenured Professor, California College of Arts and Crafts, Oakland, California.
2007 Taught Masterclass, North Lands Creative Glass, Quatre Bras, Lybster, Caithness, Scotland.
2017 Relinquished position as Chair of the Glass Department.
Professor of Fine Art, Glass, Sculpture and Graduate Programs at the California College of the Arts, Oakland, California.
2022 Last Academic Year, California College of the Arts, Oakland, California.
2025 Completion of new Studio rebuild, Napa, California.
1948 Born Whitehead, County Antrim, Northern Ireland. Nationality, British.
1965-1968 Apprenticed Linen Damask Designer, William Ewart and Son Ltd., Belfast.
1965-1968 Intensive drawing classes, Belfast College of Art.
1965-1968 Awarded, 1st, City and Guilds Certificate, Woven Textile Technology, Belfast College of Technology.
1968 Four months crewing with fishing trawler, Vestmannjar, Iceland.
1968-1969 Foundation Certificate in Art and Design from the Hornsey College of Art, London.
1969 Four-month student exchange to the United States of America, Drove from New York to Los Angeles.
Worked for May Co. Wilshire Boulevard. Drove from Los Angeles to Vancouver.
1969-1971 Diploma in Art and Design (Dip. AD) Sculpture and Drawing, The Walthamstow School of Art, London.
1970 Season touring Norway with Circus Berny.
1971 Worked for Kastrup and Holmegaards Glassworks, Nestved, Denmark.
1971-1973 Master of Arts Degree, Royal College of Art, London.
1972 Awarded travelling scholarship to the Iittala Glassworks, Finland.
1973-1974 Living in the Greek Islands and Turkey.
1974 Set up studio, Phipp Street, London.
1975 Travelled through Kenya, Zambia, Tanzania, Malawi, Rhodesia, Botswana, and South Africa.
Executed series of drawings for Piccadilly Gallery Exhibition, London (1976).
1974-1975 Lecturer at the Hornsey College of Art in drawing.
1976-1977 Lecturer at the Middlesex Polytechnic in the Foundation Department.
1977-1984 Visiting lecturer at the Royal College of Art, London.
1978 Living in Mustique, West Indies, Visited St. Vincent, Barbados, Granada, Martinique, Trinadad and Tobago.
1978 Lecturer at the Royal College of Art, London.
1980- 1984 Senior Lecturer at the Royal College of Art, London.
1980 First Class Passage on Cunard’s, Queen Elizabeth 2, Southhampton- New York.
Sculptural works for the Heller Gallery Show shipped in the hold.
1984 Set up studio, West 57th Street, New York.
1984 Instructor at the Pilchuck Glass School, Stanwood, Washington, (1985, 1988, 1989, 1991, 1993.)
1985 Set up studio and glass casting facility, Worship Street, London.
1991-1996 Visiting Professor of Fine Art.
Chair of the Glass Program at the California College of Arts and Crafts, Oakland, California.
1996 Tenured Professor, California College of Arts and Crafts, Oakland, California.
2007 Taught Masterclass, North Lands Creative Glass, Quatre Bras, Lybster, Caithness, Scotland.
2017 Relinquished position as Chair of the Glass Department.
Professor of Fine Art, Glass, Sculpture and Graduate Programs at the California College of the Arts, Oakland, California.
2022 Last Academic Year, California College of the Arts, Oakland, California.
2025 Completion of new Studio rebuild, Napa, California.