Shirley Elford Art Glass Vase

Product Details

Vintage Shirley Elford art glass vase, circa 1980-90.  Hand blown peach coloured glass with a continuous spiralling thread of clear glass near the shoulder.  Etched signature on the bottom: Shirley Elford.

7” (17.8cm) high, 4 1/2” (11.4cm) diameter at the widest.

Shirley (Sinclair) Elford (1943-2011) was a Hamilton, Ontario area glass blower.  She discovered glass blowing at OCA (Ontario College of Art, now OCAD University) enrolling in 1979 at the age of 36 after her youngest child entered high school.  She designed and created decorative vases, bowls, paperweights and a series of glass angels.  The angels were inspired by the loss of a family friend’s child in 1990 and were both sold and gifted to friends in need of a guardian angel.  Elford also designed the first Juno Award (Canadian Recording Arts & Sciences) used 2000-2010 and updated in 2011.  Her work has been presented by the city of Hamilton to Prince Edward (the present Duke of Edinburgh), Sir Elton John, Christopher Reeve, Luciano Pavarotti and The Tragically Hip.  Her work is represented in the collections of the Royal Ontario Museum, the Bronfman / Claridge Collection and the Skydome Founders Club.