Catherine Hough
Catherine Hough was born in Bristol in 1948. She abandoned a teaching career to pursue a course in glass and metalwork at Stourbridge College of Art, completing her B.A (Hons.) in 1978.
She was then invited to set up a studio at Royal Brierley Crystal to make one-off pieces in glass and metal. These bottles, boxes and bowls incorporated a number of cold-working techniques, including; cutting, sand blasting, and enamelling. Metal was introduced to the pieces either by blowing the glass into a metal frame or electro-forming silver onto the surface of the glass. In 1980 Catherine Hough joined the Glasshouse, London, where she worked until 1985 when, in association with Steve Newell and Simon Moore she founded a studio in London.
She was then invited to set up a studio at Royal Brierley Crystal to make one-off pieces in glass and metal. These bottles, boxes and bowls incorporated a number of cold-working techniques, including; cutting, sand blasting, and enamelling. Metal was introduced to the pieces either by blowing the glass into a metal frame or electro-forming silver onto the surface of the glass. In 1980 Catherine Hough joined the Glasshouse, London, where she worked until 1985 when, in association with Steve Newell and Simon Moore she founded a studio in London.Catherine Hough’s work is notable for the contrast between precise cutting and textured surfaces achieved by sand-blasting and polishing processes and the use of fine coloured cane decoration. Employing these various techniques she produces both exquisite, small scent bottles and larger sculptural forms. Her most recent work reveals a fascination with many faceted, asymmetrical forms, with contrasting surfaces on which each piece may be balanced at various angles.
Catherine Hough’s work may be seen at the following public Collections; Varberg Castle Museum, Verberg. Sweden; the Corning Museum of Glass, Corning, U.S.A.; and the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge, England.