Near disaster, a big finish and a small award

Today was my scheduled day to finish a large panel I have been working on for (all stages of it being made and details are on previous post, click here), so I have spent the day polishing and finishing the details of the etching with an electric etching pen. I always do the pen etching right at the end as I don’t like the black stove polish to get stuck in the grooves of the glass. This is a slightly risky practice though as if there is a weak point in the glass the vibrations of the etching pen can crack it and just as I was finishing the last piece of etching on the border disaster struck, CRACK! Thankfully it was only a very small piece of the border and I was able to replace the small pane of glass quickly, in order to take a couple of photos in the fading light and it will be delivered to its new home on Sunday where it will be fitted into a double glazed unit. Hopefully I will get some better photos of it soon.  The border is made up of clear glass with seaside motifs, including acid etched shells and molded glass with seaweed patterns. The main body of the panel is made from a mixture of different glass including spectrum, cathedral and wispy glass. The colours reflect the greens and purples of the hills around North Devon and the acid etching has come out very well in the main panel and the borders.

I am also really pleased to announce that I have been chosen as one of 5 Devon Artist Network emerging artists to recieve a bursary to pay for half of Devon Open Studios this year, which is timely as the family who commissioned this window saw my work in last years brochure!

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Going down Memory Lane

When my old school friend Wendy asked me to commission a special piece for her Mum’s birthday I was only to happy to oblige, especially having discussed the subject, Happisburgh on the Norfolk coast. This fast disappearing village was where I spent many a happy childhood day on the beach and as a teenager camping on the cliffs (I believe the campsite has all but disappeared now, reclaimed by the sea). The lighthouse thankfully still very much on dry land, keeping ships safe from the cliffs and sand banks and it is this landmark that I turned into a panel.

They were very pleased with it and said, “….it looks fabulous! Hopefully mum will be over the moon…Thanks everso much for doing this, its really special.”

 

Getting stuck into something big!

Way back in Autumn 2010 I started discussing a large window commission to be fitted into a double glazed unit for a family in Cambridgeshire, first the glazer was busy, so they missed their slot with me and since then I have been flat out with other projects. They have been very patient and finally I have made a decent start on their piece!

The brief was for a design based on their favourite spot, Crackington on the North Devon coast to fill a large window looking onto a large porch/conservatory from the dining area of their home and bring some colour into their house.  As soon as I saw the place sketching out designs was very straightforward, it is a gorgeous spot and I hope I can capture the mood of the scenery there. I always try to capture the spirit of a location, photo-realism is not my aim. The design was agreed last year and then put on the back burner, which gave me a little bit of an artist block when I came to start cutting the glass, I knew the landscape needed a border but what that border should be has been alluding me for sometime! However, whilst looking into the shell framed mirror in my bathroom today inspiration finally came and I rushed off to my workshop to get going. The border is to be made entirely of different textured clear glass with lots of acid etched shells, seaweed and other sea life and today I painted all the PVA glue onto these pieces to act as a resist to the acid and acid etched in the flowers and grasses to the hillside in the foreground of the landscape.

It is a big panel and I have a small workshop, so I had to stand on a bar stool to get a shot of the whole panel! The colours of the glass do not show up well or true on the white background of the cartoon, but you can get a rough idea. Anyway, there are some photos of the panel so far, painting on the designs and acid etching them.

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Pieces for ‘Landscapes’ at Otterton Mill

 

After a mammoth effort I got all my pieces for my latest exhibition to the gallery 4 hours before they started hanging, which is cutting it a bit fine! Otterton Mill is a lovely gallery space, craft shop, working Mill and award winning restaurant near Budleigh Salterton in Devon and this is my second exhibition with them, almost exactly a year a part. The works here are all inspired by local landscapes, from Poltimore House to Sidmouth beachand incorporate found objects, etching and acid etching, recycled glass. All the pieces are made using traditional stained glass leading techniques and some of them are framed in reclaimed tulip tree frames, commissioned from a local carpenter, which look lovely. I have 10 large pieces and several smaller items for exhibition and sale in the gallery, along side 2 other artists, the wonderful Robert Jennison and local artist Amy Cummins our work seems to compliment each other very well. I am glad I work in glass as it would be very daunting to be exhibiting paintings with such talented artists!

Anyway, below is a slide show of my pieces and the exhibition is free and runs from 5th March till 25th April, so please have a look if you are in the area.