Courtney Downman

Courtney Downman is a Canadian Glass Artist, Instructor, and current Artist-in-Residence at the Living Arts Centre glass studio in Mississauga ON. 

Courtney began working with glass in 2012 after enrolling in the Craft and Design program at Sheridan College. The following year she was hired as Teaching Assistant for their glass program. In 2016 Courtney was awarded a two-year Artist-in-Residence fellowship at the Living Arts Centre glass studio in Mississauga, ON. Most recently, Courtney worked as an Artist-in-Residence in the Glass studio at Sheridan College has completed her Bachelors in Craft and Design at Sheridan. She has returned to the Living Arts Centre’s Residency program where she continues to create her latest glass works.

Courtney creates her signature series of blown and saw carved glass vessels by carving into the glass using a water fed diamond saw. Each piece begins as a smooth and translucent bubble that has been coloured and shaped. Once cooled, Courtney then begins to delicately carve each textured line, cutting the glass away to reveal the final form. Each piece is then sandblasted create a matte finish. Each work explores the balance between fragility and rigidity in a material we often consider extremely fragile.