About
Deborah Bowen

Deborah Bowen was born in Melbourne and has been creating since childhood, inspired by her mother's enduring mantra: "Keep your hands busy." Today, she works across a broad range of glass techniques, creating kiln-formed (warm) glass works including panels, tapestries, drop vessels, murrine, screen printed glass, cast glass and sculptural pieces, as well as hot-blown glass vessels and cold-worked leadlight and copper-foiled panels.

Pattern and repetition are central to Deborah's artistic practice, providing a foundation for exploring themes of connection and fragmentation. She is fascinated by the interaction of light and glass, embracing the refractions and reflections that bring each piece to life. Many of her works are designed to be displayed in windows, where changing light enhances their colour, texture and depth throughout the day.

Deborah teaches glass-making from her home studio in Rosanna, drawing on her extensive training in glass techniques and her many years of experience as a teacher. She offers regular classes and workshops in a welcoming and well-equipped studio environment, supporting students of all skill levels to develop their creativity and confidence.

An active exhibiting artist, Deborah creates work for exhibitions, private commissions and sale through galleries, markets and her social media platforms. She is a participating artist in the Banyule Open Studios program, which invites visitors into local artists' studios to experience their creative spaces, watch demonstrations, meet the artists, and the opportunity to purchase original work directly from the maker. 

Qualifications:

Bachelor of Teaching (Primary) with Honours  

2001

The University of Melbourne

Bachelor of Business in Information Management

1997

RMIT University

Diploma of Social Science in Information Management  

1991

Box Hill Institute of Technology

Deborah has participated in workshops and classes extensively since beginning her glass journey, including:

  • Glass bas relief at Red Door Studio with Jacquie Hacansson.

  • Beginner leadlight at Red Door Studio with Jacquie Hacansson.

  • Beginner fusing at Red Door Studio with Jacquie Hacansson.

  • Cold working glass at Blue Dog Studio with Laurel Kohut.

  • Glass silk screen techniques at Blue Dog Glass Studio with Brenda Page.

  • Pot melts and wire melts at Blue Dog Studio with Brenda Page.

  • Sandblasting glass at Blue Dog Studio with Andy.

  • Vitrigraph murrine making at Blue Dog Studio with Nathan Sandberg.

  • Vitrigraph cane making at Blue Dog Studio with Nathan Sandberg.

  • Advanced vitrigraph murrine online with Nathan Sandberg.

  • Pate de verre at Axess Glass with Estelle Dean.

  • Screen printing on glass masterclass at Blue Dog Studio with Brenda Page.

  • Vessel potentials masterclass with Amanda Simmons at Blue Dog Glass.

  • Mastering kiln firing schedules with Bob Leatherbarrow.

  • Sacred Geometry with Stephanie June Ellis at Montsalvat.

  • Cast glass masterclass with Di Tocker looking at Colour, Texture and Form at Blue Dog Glass.

  • Tapestry glass at Blue Dog Glass with Richard Parrish.

  • Working with glass bas relief at Blue Dog Glass with Richard Parrish.

  • Beginner glass bead making at Blue Dog Glass with Kathryn Wardill.

  • Advanced glass bead making at Blue Dog Glass with Kathryn Wardill.

  • Glass casting at Blue Dog Glass with Brenda Page.

  • Glass rollup creation at Canberra Glassworks with Kirstie Rae.

  • Glass blowing at Canberra Glassworks with Scott Chaseling.

  • Glass rollup creation at Red Door Studio with Scott Chaseling and Jacquie Hacansson.

  • Glass blowing at Maureen William’s Hotshop with Scott Chaseling and Maureen Williams.

  • Block murrine making at Red Door Glass with Scott Chaseling.

  • Pulling block murrine at Maureen William’s Hotshop with Scott Chaseling and Maureen Williams.

  • Glass blowing at Ruth Allen’s Hot Shop with Ruth Allen.

  • Glass blowing at Hot Haus Glass with Laurel Kohut and Amanda Dziedzic.

  • Glass surface techniques with Hannah Gregory at the Australian Centre for Glass Design at Melbourne Polytechnic.

  • Screen printing on glass with James Cockerill of HALTglass at Blue Dog Studio.

Deborah regularly shows and sells her artwork using various glass techniques in exhibitions at galleries including:

  • Gallery Unbound, Unbound; Encore; and Tangent.

  • Eaglemont Artisan Hub, ongoing work available.

  • Sol Gallery, Autumn Harvest.

  • Red Gallery, Ladies in Red - Rebel Heart; The Mother Hood; 60by60for60; Curves; and In the Round.

  • Fairfield PS, Art4All.

  • Kinross Art Centre, Bloom.

  • ILCH Loft 275, Step into an Artist's World; Community and Connection; and Beyond the Page.

  • ILCH Gallery 275, Banyule Art Salon.

  • Eltham Town Square, Illuminate Eltham.

  • Lower Plenty Shopping Strip, Look! Its Art!

  • Eltham Community Gallery, The Artistry of Books; and Renewal.

  • Thou Art Mum, Out of the Vault Online; and A4 Online.

  • Montsalvat, Gold; Momentum; Out of the Blue; In the Pink; Women of the Badlands; and Nature's Story.

  • Brunswick Street Gallery, Fifty Squared Art Prize; Grayscale;Tough Love; Make or Break; and Small Works.

  • The Hatch Gallery, Banyule Arts Salon; Liminal and Engaging with Aging.

  • MREAM Studios and Gallery, Frida Homage.

  • Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show, Flora and Fauna.

  • Incube8r Gallery, Suburban Oasis.

  • Stone House Gallery, Teapot Exhibition.

  • Gallery 345, Manifest.

  • No Vacancy Gallery, Flesh.

  • Black Cat Gallery, Square.

  • The Vines Café, Contrast.

  • Linden New Art, Linden Postcards.

  • Fitzroy Public Gallery, The Fitzroy Fifty-Five.

  • Marian Rennie Sculpture Park, Within the Land.

  • Bridges Gallery, Under the Milky Way.