Artist salvages Christchurch memories

Glass artist Jasmine Keir with a mosaic of the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament, Christchurch, which took her four days to make from pieces of her mirror stock that was almost totally destroyed in February's earthquake. Photo by Stephen Jaquiery.

The February earthquake demolished the contents of glass artist Jasmine Keir's Heathcote Valley studio, destroying thousands of dollars worth of mirrors and glass that she used in her glass art business.

Ms Keir, who has been exhibiting with the travelling craft show since 2009, said the damage to her workshop was upsetting at first and she grieved for about a month.

But one morning she woke with a vision to rebuild her city out of broken glass.

Her one-off pieces, painstakingly made from the shards of her glass stock, show familiar scenes of Christchurch and symbolic Christchurch buildings, represented in an array of new angles.

The pieces had received a strong response at craft show venues, both as cathartic talking pieces and as coveted purchases, she said.

Once she ran out of shards, she would return to her usual business of making art from glass.

The craft show is on at the Edgar Centre in Dunedin from 10am-5pm today and tomorrow.