Scott Benefield & Andrea Spencer | A Practice in Parallel

This event will be held both on-campus and online via Zoom (a link to the online stream will be sent to registered attendees).

Scott Benefield and Andrea Spencer live on the north coast of Ireland on a remote farm property, pursuing careers as artists using glass as their primary medium of expression, but retaining distinct identities and following divergent paths in their practices.

Andrea’s work uses the technique of flame working, a method of sculpting glass objects in fine detail on an intimate scale. She draws inspiration from the flora and marine life of the nearby coastal environment, creating small tableaux that combine close observation and a free interpretation of colour, texture and composition. In addition to her works in glass, in recent years Andrea has established herself as a workshop instructor at programs and schools throughout the UK and the United States and offers educational experiences from a bespoke teaching facility on their coastal property.

Scott has been a glassblower for over 35 years, founding glassblowing studios in New Orleans and Seattle before moving to Ireland fifteen years ago. Although the through line of his career has been the design and production of functional objects, he has maintained a consistent focus on cane working techniques that were first developed in 16th C. Venice for most of that time. His work engages that heritage of the craft of glassblowing, which he has demonstrated and taught at workshops around Europe and the United States, and during extended residencies in Japan and China.

In the presentation, Andrea and Scott will present an overview of their individual practices and speak about the dynamics of maintaining individual but interrelated careers.

Andrea Spencer received her BA in glass from the Edinburgh School of Art in1993 and exhibits her work throughout Ireland, the UK and the United States. She has been an instructor in flame working at the Pilchuck Glass School and the Studio of the Corning Museum of Glass, and was the keynote speaker at the 2025 AusGlass conference in Poatina.

Scott Benefield graduated from Ohio States University in 1990, following a year spent on a Fulbright grant in Sweden. He built and ran glassblowing studios in New Orleans and Seattle before relocating to Northern Ireland in 2010, where he established his current practice. He was a visiting lecturer at Osaka University of Arts and has done residencies and demonstrations at schools, festivals and workshops around the world for the past 15 years.

The School of Art & Design Seminar series will continue weekly on Tuesdays from 1-2pm, between 17 February and 21 October 2025, co-convened by Dr Alex Burchmore and Alia Parker.