JAMES MCMURTRIE

James McMurtrie is a distinguished Australian Glass artist whose work is deeply intertwined with the natural beauty of the Grampians National Park, a wild, ancient landscape that breathes life into every piece he creates.

Residing in Pomonal at the base of Mt William range, James works with molten glass at temperatures above 1000 degrees using traditional glassblowing techniques that demand both physical precision and artistic intuition. The process from gathering and blowing to shaping and annealing is a dance of fire and form, where timing and touch are everything.

Inspired by the dramatic silhouettes of the mountain escarpments, the shifting light and rich colours of the bush, James translates nature’s patterns into fluid, luminous works of art. His vessels and sculptural forms often echo the textures of tree bark, the contours of sandstone cliffs or the soft glow of the Grampians sunset. 

His deep connection to the land is evident in every piece, a celebration of nature’s rhythms captured in a medium as fragile, enduring and elemental as the landscape itself. Through glass, James tells the story of place, light and the magic in between.