Bloomerangas PodcastOn Crafts in the Age of AI | Glasgow School of Art
I talked with Stephen Bottomley, Head of the School of Design at Glasgow School of Art and a working goldsmith whose own pieces sit in the British Museum and National Museums Scotland. Stephen studies something called the overview effect, the shift in perspective astronauts describe when they see Earth from space. He uses it as a lens for craft too. The point was never the travel itself, it’s having new eyes for what’s already right in front of you. We talked a lot about the craft education in the age of AI, and he was refreshingly clear-eyed about it. His take: most AI recombines what already exists rather than creating anything new. He still uses it for the boring stuff, like summarizing a hundred emails, he just doesn’t mistake that for the creative part of the work. His research cluster at Glasgow gave students metal salvaged from a church roof that had aged outdoors for sixty years, and asked them to work with its color and history rather than melting it down fresh. That project has already had three exhibitions. We also got into why record gold and silver prices are pushing students toward new materials, what it actually takes to develop your own style instead of copying someone else’s technique, and how craftspeople are already experimenting with blowing glass in zero gravity for future life on the moon. If any of this resonates, I’d love for you to listen to the full conversation, and read the write-up on the blog. We don't have video from this one, unfortunately, but check out our LinkedIn and Instagram for some good reels from this talk with Stephen coming out soon. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit creativity.bloomerangas.com/subscribe
