AMILTON D E S I G N G L A S S The artwork of Jeffrey Hamilton

Sabbia Gallery of Paddington in Sydney kicked off 2018 with a resoundingly successful iteration of their annual Masters series, this one titled Sketch. Some of the participating artists responded enthusiastically to the theme, others more obliquely or perhaps not at all.

Certainly Matthew Curtis is on the former category with his "Neodymium and Grey Incline" shown above, with a cut-out photograph of him drawing on the floor with his dogs curled around him making what appears to be a shadow cast by the glass tower.

Giles Bettison on the other hand has chosen to show us in intricate detail the planning that went into the making of "Chroma 2018 #4" as a framed sketch, while Tom Rowney has sketched the form he has made for the exhibition.

Showing by far the largest piece in the exhibition, Jenni Kemarre Martiniello has drawn into and onto the glass and inscribed the names of fallen Indigenous soldiers into her "Gallipoli Pole, 2015"

South Australian artist Tom Moore is showing an exhibition of his trademark quirky characters at the Hughes Gallery in Devonshire Street, Surry HIlls, NSW. Walking up the road from my studio in search of a cheap lunch I happened to wander into the gallery and was greeted by a lively display of glass sculpture, instantly recognisable as Tom Moore's.

Robert Cooke, Curator of Modern and Contemporary Photography and Design, Art Gallery of Western Australia has written an eminently readable essay on the exhibition, titled Prehistoric Restraint, for the Gallery's room sheet.

For me personally the most exciting aspect to the show was the inclusion of Tom's preparatory drawings. Being such a process-driven artist myself, these works on paper had enormous appeal both as artworks in their own right and as evidence of the thought processes involved in the production of the sculptures.

I learned this week from my friend and colleague Maureen Cahill, Director of the Glass Artists Gallery in Glebe, of Mark Galton's tragic death on Wednesday 25th May at a coal mining site in Boggabri (near Narrabri) NSW.

He was crushed by the collapse of an overhead metal structure while working from a cherry picker 15 metres above ground, about 8.50am. He was kept alive by work mates until paramedics arrived, but went into cardiac arrest.

Mark Galton was a very active member of his local Surf Life Saving Club at Ulladulla, becoming president from 2004. Ulladulla Boardriders Club president Kurt Nyholm speaks glowingly of Mark in a news item in the local press

A highly skilled glassblower, Mark was instrumental in developing the career of his partner Tina Cooper many years ago.

Mark recently closed down his glass studio in Burrill Lake that he ran with his wife Dominica on the South Coast of NSW. Claudine Thornton, a local photographer has produced a photo essay on the studio/gallery

I remember Mark as real character, always in good humour, full of energy and enthusiasm and passionate about glass-making. He was one of those laconic Australians they call "the salt of the earth".