Marguerite Beneke started her fascination with glass at an early age. Whilst living in Pretoria, she began working in stained glass, etchings and paintings. In 2003, she and her husband relocated to Aberdeen. While browsing through an art supply shop she saw her first piece of kiln worked glass and fell in love with the light, texture and colour of the glass.Glass fusing is a process where a specialized kiln is used to melt pieces of glass together. There are many different techniques for producing fused glass items but Marguerite mainly works with glass enamels, bits of coloured glass and copper wire. Most of her pieces are fired twice. This lengthy process can take up to 48 hours to produce a single piece.
Her creative inspirations come from every direction, whether it is the colour of a beautiful Karoo sunset or the colour of the ocean. It has a wide-ranging appeal and is uniquely different. She specifically produces glass items you won’t see anywhere else.
Marguerite currently exhibits her work at the Camdeboo Fine Art Gallery in Aberdeen, Chocolat Gallery in Graaff-Reinet and the Chris Tugwell Gallery in Pretoria. Her work has been sold to customers from the U.K. and U.S. as well as Europe. She is currently working on a commission from the South African Air Force.
Article By: Joan Tinker
