Projects.
Quiet skies @ Australian War Memorial
‘Quiet Skies - As the sun rises’ and ‘Quiet Skies - As the sun sets’ were completed in January 2025. Commissioned by the Australian War Memorial, these two glass artworks are found in the stairwells of the newly opened southern entrance and are on permanent display.
They were designed by Annette and fabricated with the support of the Canberra Glassworks team and many talented local glass makers. Each artwork consists of approximately 900 handcrafted glass eucalyptus leaves referencing the colours of sunrise in the eastern, and sunset in the western stairwell.
The original concept was inspired by the poem ‘For the Fallen’ by Laurence Binyon (1869–1943)
‘They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.’
The Australian War Memorial is open Daily 10am - 4pm excluding Christmas day
The poetry of things
Collaborative works with Kirstie Rea
What began as a spontaneous collaboration between Annette Blair and Kirstie Rea at Pilchuck Glass School in 2023 has led to this thoughtful body of work presented at Suki and Hugh Gallery in Bungendore, Australia in 2025…
‘The Poetry of Things is a reflection on the quiet beauty found in the everyday. Drawing inspiration from the domestic and utilitarian, Rea and Blair turn their attention to objects that are often overlooked such as peaches, tin cans, cloths, brushes, translating them into lustrous glass still life’s that are at once familiar and transformed. Through this process of reimagining the ordinary, they ask us to reconsider our relationship with the things that surround us: those that hold memory, wear, and touch.
The exhibition carries a subtle tension between fragility and permanence, delicacy and weight. Rendered in glass alongside found materials, the works embody both the endurance and ephemerality of use. Each piece is imbued with a sense of care, cultivated through the slow, intentional rhythm of making. Rea and Blair’s material dialogue becomes a reflection on attention itself, on what it means to notice, to hold space, and to find poetry in the simple acts of living.
Their collaboration underscores a shared sensitivity to process and place. Both artists have long explored how material and making can reflect the contours of personal experience. Rea through her evocative treatment of light, transparency, and memory, and Blair through her nuanced explorations of form, colour, and tactility. In The Poetry of Things, their practices interweave to create an installation of quiet resonance, where glass becomes both subject and metaphor.
This exhibition invites viewers into a world of considered observation, a celebration of gathering, use, and care, and the enduring connection between people and the objects of their daily lives.’
-Suki & Hugh Gallery 2025
Museum of Glass Residency
Tacoma, Washington
In August 2025, Annette was invited to the Museum of Glass in Tacoma for a 5-day residency in their world reknowned glassblowing studio. Annette worked with the highly skilled team of glassblowers to explore new works which continued on from her solo exhibition ‘Weathered’ at Sabbia gallery earlier in the year.
‘During my residency at the museum of glass, I am exploring the use of glass powders as a way of incorporating more depth into the surface of my pieces. I also have the rare opportunity to work towards some collaborative pieces with Washington local, April Surgent. We studied together in Canberra from 2001-2004 and have slowly been working through some ideas which combine our specialised glass processes. This residency has allowed us the opportunity to work on a few pieces without the logistics of living and working on opposite sides of the world. A massive thank you to the MOG team for this wonderful opportunity.’
Weathered @ Sabbia Gallery
‘Weathered reflects on the quiet poetry of time-worn objects and the human narratives they hold—familiar, functional forms that might once have been passed down, set aside, or simply forgotten. These modest objects are honoured here for their quiet utility and the imagined histories embedded in their surfaces. They become vessels of memory, shaped by presence and absence, function and neglect.
Each work explores the residue of use and the slow transformation of materials over time. Glass—both malleable and permanent—enables me to reimagine these objects while preserving their essence. My process balances control and surrender: pieces are blown from coloured molten glass, then coldworked to refine their form and surface. I apply multiple layers of hand-mixed glass enamel paints, drawing from both the physical landscape of place and the personal landscape of lived experience. These painted surfaces echo rust, erosion, lichen, and the marks left by time—quiet topographies that speak of use, memory, and decay.
Metal filings embedded in the surface are left to oxidise, allowing rust to evolve slowly and unpredictably. This transformation continues beyond the studio, reflecting the ongoing nature of change and the layered complexity of memory. Through years of working with glass, I have developed an intuitive affinity with the material. My practice draws from traditional glassmaking techniques, expanded through contemporary craft and experimentation. Each work in Weathered is the result of thoughtful engagement with heat, time, and material knowledge—an exploration of both process and poetics.’
-Weathered @ Sabbia Gallery, Sydney. June 2025
