Peter Mac Glass Art Display Complete
The display is on the second floor at The Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre in Parkville, Melbourne - next to a cafe, waiting room, pharmacy and outpatient pathology.
Andrea Comerford – whose hard work, fundraising and philanthropy brought her vision of this project to fruition – sadly passed away in September 2023 after a long and brave battle with Multiple Myeloma, a cancer of plasma cells. Andrea, who was treated at the Peter MacCallum Centre for more than nine years, also worked at our Gallery where she fell further in love with the medium of glassblowing. The information board at The Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre exhibition – a fitting legacy for Andrea – reads as such:
THE GLORY OF GLASS
There is an inherent beauty, timeless quality and enduring appeal in glass, whose traditions and techniques have changed little over the centuries - yet it remains one of the most exciting and dynamic art forms today.
Glass is a captivating medium capable of almost endless transformation - unique qualities embodied in the exquisite play of transmitted, reflected and refracted light. The art of glassblowing survives to this day and contemporary glass makers keep old traditions alive.
It is remarkable how a technique as ancient as manual glassblowing remains virtually unaltered today. Objects are created from molten glass made using simple ingredients such as sand, soda and limestone, heated in a furnace to 1300 degrees Celsius, to melt into clear glass. During production the furnace is kept running constant|y and in this regard, glassblowing is one or the most expensive forms of art to produce and one of the most difficult to master.
In the blowing room amidst the searing heat of the furnaces artists work with molten hot glass that emerges like a small glowing ball of fire shaping it with tools, adding colour in various twisting, coaxing, harnessing gravity and blowing to create beautiful art glass forms. To the observer, the sheer drama of this wondrous fiery blowing process is utterly compelling
This selection of hand blown vases, bottles, bowls and platters from the Peter Mac Art collection has been created by Gordon Studio Glassblowers in Red Hill, representing three generations of the acclaimed Gordon Donaldson family, highly skilled artists, practising this age old art. The works celebrate this luminous medium, its elegance of form and brilliance of colour.
The acquisition was made possible through a generous philanthropic initiative to give back to other Peter Mac patients by Andrea Comerford, who sold candles and organised other events to raise sufficient funds. As she has said, "The art at Peter Mac has provided so much solace and comfort to me throughout my time coming to the building and I wanted to attribute to that in some way.”
A glass collector since her teens, Andrea has a long-standing appreciation of the beauty and richness of colour embedded in this medium.
Eileen Gordon and Grant Donaldson with Andrea Comerford at the Gordon Studio Glassblowers in Red Hill
"The colours of glass are exciting… the sun coming in and reflecting off the glass is stunning. Such beauty has the power to bring happiness to people who are at Peter Mac and perhaps not feeling so good," Andrea added.
Peter Mac and Gordon Studio Glassblowers also want to acknowledge the funding support provided by the Victorian Government through the Community Support Fund to purchase the display cases.
