Bottles, bowls, paperweights, sculptures, plates, pendants, beads - the charm of glass has always fascinated me. When I saw the fiery action in a glassblower's hotshop, I knew this would become a serious hobby.

Starting with a small kiln, then a lampworking torch, then more kilns, eventually a melting furnace and gloryhole, I have built up a small but well-equipped glass hotshop in my back yard. 

Where others would play golf or go fishing, I recharge my sanity in my glass studio. Mostly self-taught, I learned the basics from books and the internet, and as my work gets recognition, lately also from more experienced glass artists.

People started asking, and started buying things. After someone asked, "is that from Murano?" a name for my glass pieces popped up as a family joke, but stuck - "Boerano".

The name is a portmanteau of "Boer" and "Murano", the first being me, and the second being the cradle of glass art since the year 1291. 

Glassmaking probably dates from around 4000-5000 BC, its origins lost in the mists of time, and open to conjecture. One fable tells the story of a Phoenician ship's crew, caught up in strong winds somewhere in the eastern Mediterranean sea, forced to make it to land. On the white sandy beach, they used some of their cargo of limestone to build a shelter against the wind. To fuel their fire, they used some of the local dried vegetation - possibly leafy shrubs, sticks, even dried seaweed, or other growth found in the sodium-rich soils of the Eastern Mediterranean shores. As the night passed, the wind continued blowing, fanning the flames to a heat high enough to melt the sand (silica), limestone (calcium carbonate) and soda ash (sodium carbonate) together. The next morning, the seafarers must have marvelled at the smooth, shiny, round objects left in the ashes of their fireplace. Mankind's first synthetic material was born. Whether this actually happened, or how the ancients managed to replicate the process in a consistent way, we will never know. 

Venetian glass probably dates from 7th or &th century Rome, but in the year 1291, out of fear of fire and complete destruction of mainland Venice, the city's leaders banished the glassmakers to the nearby island of Murano. The safety of water surrounding the island provided peace of mind for the Venetians, and a haven for the glassmakers where they would not be disturbed. Their work was soon highly prized, and glassmakers enjoyed important status. They were allowed to carry swords, and they could even marry the daughters of noblemen. The secrets and techniques of glassmaking continues to be handed down to the next generation to this day.

Murano glassmaking techniques were once fiercely protected, and even punishable by death if the secrets left the island, but in modern times many of the masters share their knowledge with the rest of the world.

So much so, that the glassmaking craft even caught on in a land far, far away, in the southern tip of Africa...by a Boer...

The Boer people have a complex and stormy history. Meaning "farmer" in Afrikaans, they have established themselves firmly in agriculture, both regionally and internationally. No longer just farmers, Boers are found in all walks of life, and a diaspora has spread them all over the world. Sometimes praised, often vilified, almost always misunderstood, they are unique in this world as the only white tribe in Africa. However strong their European ancestry may be, their genetic mix contains contributions from Africa and the Orient that sets them apart from contemporary Europeans, making them truly indigenous. Too African for Europe, and sometimes still too European for Africa, their enduring presence for nearly 5 centuries makes South Africa their only real home. They have left an indelible mark on both the country and the continent, and even on the world. It is, for example, forever etched into history that the first human heart transplant was done by a Boer.

I am proud to be part of this tribe.

A few pieces are shown here, to give an idea of what I do. From time to time, pieces may pop up in galleries as part of an exhibition. Lampwork and kiln pendants are finding their way into boutiques, and have been spotted from Australia to Norway to Canada.

Feel free to make contact..