Zeynep Korun started at AUP studying BA (Hons) Illustration, but when she attended a glass blowing workshop as part of “Workshop Wednesdays” (where students are encouraged to try out the different facilities), she was mesmerised.  “Yeah, I got the glass bug from that moment! So I straight away booked another workshop!” she says. She then joined the BA (Hons) Craft & Material Practices programme which was an easy process, and never looked back. She recently became Runner Up for the Graduate Glass Prize in the 2023 Glass Sellers’ and Contemporary Glass Society awards.

Originally from Turkey, Zeynep has a deep connection to her country and culture. Since catching the ‘glass bug’ she has been blowing glass with passion and patience, taking inspiration from Turkish motifs and impactful events that have taken place in Turkey.

Although her passion lies in hot glass, Zeynep uses mixed media such as plaster, concrete, ceramics and metal in her work to elevate her designs and contribute to the context of her work. She believes in the value of things that take time and effort which inspires her thoughtful and time consuming engraved glass forms.

‘Grief Game’, Zeynep’s final major project focused on the socio-political strand of her practice, following the colossal earthquake that struck Turkey on 6 February 2023. Zeynep felt obligated to create a body of work commemorating the 50,783 lives taken and the many more left without families and homes. ‘Grief Game’ takes the shape of a Kendama, a traditional Japanese toy, which was a memorable pastime of Zeynep’s childhood growing up in Ankara. By recreating the toy in industrial building materials such as concrete, rebar and glass, the toy takes on a new meaning of destruction and fragility; any interaction results in breakage.

During her studies, Zeynep volunteered with Teign Valley Glass, assisted in the hot and cold shop at London Glassblowing and has received two scholarships from the Glass Furnace in Istanbul. She also took part in Arts University Plymouth’s ‘Melting Pot: Hot Glass Gathering’ event in 2022, part of the UK’s national celebrations for the United Nations-designated International Year of Glass and as part of the Crafts Council’s Make! Craft! Live! 50th anniversary season.