Through the Looking Glass: Q+A with Rachel Rush and Lauren Hunt

Through the Looking Glass pairs two artists whose practices, while distinct in material, are deeply connected in spirit. Rachel Rush works with resin, balancing precision and spontaneity to create luminous, layered abstractions, while Lauren Hunt has spent two decades refining her craft in glass, recently embracing a more fluid, organic approach through her Rippled Glass Series.

Both artists grapple with fragility and strength, control and unpredictability, tradition and experimentation, using their chosen mediums as mirrors for transformation. In this conversation, they reflect on what it means to surrender to process, to embrace imperfection, and to find unexpected connections between resin and glass.

This exhibition brings together two very different mediums, yet there’s a shared sense of reflection and transformation. How do you each see your work connecting within this dialogue?

RR: I have always absolutely loved works in coloured glass, I find it completely mesmerizing.  One of the main reasons I work in resin is because of the liquid glass element it has.  My work often appears fragile, especially when using translucent colours , but unlike glass it is surprisingly tough.  I was thrilled when it was suggested for Lauren and I to work together as our works seem like a match made in creative heaven!!

LH: Since I began working with glass almost 20 years ago, it's allowed me to evolve and express myself and my artwork in so many different ways.  It's an incredibly challenging material to work with but so rewarding when the object comes out as the mind's eye intended.  With that being said, it doesn't always work out that way.  Being able to be flexible and fluid with the process has helped me find patience and understanding, not just in the material practice and glass's own limitations, but in my own expectations of outcomes. 

Rachel, your resin works balance spontaneity with precision, chaos with control. How do you navigate that tension in your practice?

RR: by giving the resin and colour the space to work its own magic, then analysing the outcome and prodding it towards the story I want it to tell.  I will often start a work with the idea of what I want the piece to look like but always end up letting the creative process evolve and see what challenges it presents and where I can take it.  This way often produces the pieces I love the most.
 

Lauren, your Rippled Glass Series moves away from the precision of production glass toward fluid, organic forms. What inspired this shift, and what does it open up for you creatively?

LH: For most of my glass career, I was hyper focused on precision and accuracy.  I wanted to produce glass that was strictly, almost rigidly, adhering to the traditional practices.  A cup is a cup, and it had to be perfect and thin and just the right shape for it to be acceptable.  I was so hard on myself when the glass I made was anything less than that.  This Ripple Series helped me move away from my own expectations of what the final piece needed to look like.  Every piece fold and dance in it's own way.  Each one is beautiful in its own right, each one different from the next.  That was honestly a really freeing experience and I want to continue to embrace the fluidity of this expression.

Both of you embrace imperfection and unpredictability in your work. Can you talk about a moment where the process surprised you, and how you chose to respond?

RR: I always let the piece decide its own direction.  Many of my multi-layered works would look so completely different if I started and finished the work on the same day- these pieces are worked on for only a few hours each day over a period of a few weeks.  By analysing where the piece is at the next day I look for the magic in areas I don’t want to lose or spaces where an addition of colour or movement would really enhance the work and go with that.  Often while I am working out the bubbles with the heat gun is where I’ll get my first glimpses of how the layers or colours are interacting with each other and its always such a thrill 

LH: Ha! I was shocked how much I liked wobbly and funky glass.  I was so focused on precision, accuracy, and consistency for the majority of my upbringing in glass, that it felt like a pleasant and unexpected surprise when I allowed myself to let the glass go and stop forcing it.

What’s something your material has taught you about yourself that you might not have discovered otherwise?

RR: because I work as two separate artists the materials I choose really represent the two different sides of my personality.  I choose spray paint because I love the finish of it and the gritty electric street art- and I HATE being told what to do, so my graffiti one way I express that side of my nature.

I also choose resin because I’m not a complete rebel and I’m absolutely in love with colour and the way I can use resin to make such intense colour and movement shows me what I’m looking for.  I’m self taught, so I create works I want to see in my own home  and have had to learn skills (like maths for pouring resin!) that I absolutely wouldn’t think I was able to do.

LH: Perfection is overrated. I consider myself more of a craftsperson than an artist. As a craftsperson, I enjoy understanding the skills and steps needed to create a certain colour pattern or shape in glass. There is a real joy for me to be able to create a glass object that is technically perfect. However, I now really love how glass has taught me discipline and forgiveness. It's okay if it didn't turn out exactly as the 18th century maestro created.