Canadian-born glass artist Colin Heaney specialised in vessels with richly iridised surfaces, achieved by throwing handfuls of metallic salts into the furnace in the final stages of production. Heaney grew up in California and migrated to Australia in 1967, drawn to the coastal community of Byron Bay. In 1982, he engaged American glassblower Michael Larson to provide him with elementary instruction before establishing his own studio.

Heaney began making goblets for the Cats Tango Restaurant in St Lucia and continued to develop his practice, exploring the iridising process and perfecting the luminescent colours that came to exemplify his work. In a 2008 article in the Byron News, marking Heaney’s retirement, the artist stated, ‘I loved glass blowing right from the start because you [. . .] only get one chance to get it right.’