Artist and glass blower Brad Copping works from his home on the edge of the Canadian Shield, near Apsley, Ontario. He has been pursuing two distinct directions in his work.
Since his residency in the Glass Studio at Harbourfront Centre (91-94) Brad has been designing and making a series of award winning blown and carved glass vessels. These vessels have begun a process of abstraction, moving away from functionality towards something more expressive of the environment in which he lives. His functional blown glasswork can be found in the permanent collection of the Royal Ontario Museum, the Design Exchange, and the Clairdge (Bronfman) Collection. His water glass design, “Forest Glass” was selected for use at the G8 Summit in Huntsville, Ontario in 2010. He was in commissioned by Diageo to create a Crown Royal XR bottle commemorating the Duke & Duchess of Cambridge’s 2011 Royal Tour of Canada. His functional blown work was also honored at the 2012 Toronto Outdoor Art Exhibition with the Best of Glass Award, the ninth time his work has garnered recognition from the TOAE.
As student in the Glass Studio at the School of Crafts and Design at Sheridan College (87-90), Brad established his path as a mixed media sculptor, working mainly in glass and wood, but also with paper, metals and found objects. His mixed media work is in the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, the Speed Museum, and the Fine Art Collection of the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade. The Corning Museum of Glass annual publication “New Glass Review” has acknowledged his sculpture on 6 separate occasions. He has received much appreciated support for the development of this work from the Canada Council for the Arts and the Ontario Arts Council.
Brad served as President of the Glass Art Association of Canada from 2008-2011 and as International Editor of Contemporary Canadian Glass, GAAC’s online magazine from 2009 to 2014.