The clear autumn sunlight helps to highlight the clear lines of these large windows and create some nice effects within the building.
Ulster Museum
Some pictures from The Ulster Museum which has a dedicated section given over to glass.
Posted in Contempary Glass, Glass Work
Tagged Blown Glass, Craftsmanship, Peter Layton, Sculpted glass
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Ciara Cuddihy
The recent mild autumnal weather was a great chance to take some pictures of Ciara Cuddihy’s work.
Posted in Contempary Glass, craftsmanship, Glass Work
Tagged Blown Glass, Ciara Cuddihy, Sculpted glass
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Peter Layton
Some pictures from a recent visit to Peter Layton’s gallery in London.
Posted in Glass Work
Tagged Craftsmanship, glass blowing, Peter Layton, Stained Glass Work
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The Lord Clifton
Public houses are always a great place to see stained glass work. I came across this interesting example in Birmingham in the Lord Clifton pub. The clear autumn sunlight helped to highlight the quality of the workmanship.
The pub has a nice traditional front and a nice atmosphere within. Also the food is great.
Posted in craftsmanship, Public House, Stained Glass Work
Tagged Craftsmanship, Lord Clifton
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Illuminate
Some pictures from the the Illuminate exhibtion in the Kenny Gallery in Galway featuring work by glass artists.
The sweets in the above picture remind me of Foxes Glacier mints. I am afraid I do not know the name of the artist.
Posted in Contempary Glass, craftsmanship
Tagged Caroline Madden, Craftsmanship, Kenny Gallery, Michael Ray, Stained Glass Work
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Hot Glass Divas in Jerpoint
The Jerpoint Glass Studio Gallery in Stoneyford Co Kilkenny recently hosted a wonderful exhibition of glass work by women artists.
The upstairs gallery although small was wonderfully lit with a combination of artificial and natural light.
Posted in Contempary Glass
Tagged Caroline Madden, Craftsmanship, Jerpoint, Sculpted glass
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George Walsh at Kilkenny Arts Week.
Some pictures from a recent exhibition of stained glass work by George Walsh during Arts week in Kilkenny. I love his use of blue glass along with the stands that have been created to display the work.
Like Harry Clarke’s work, each time I look at these pictures I see something new.
Engaging With Glass
If the Solstice Centre in Navan, happened to be within the geographic orbit of Time Out London, I could see it easily earning a review as a must-see destination this summer. And the reason, its superb exhibition Engaging with Glass. When you visit this exhibition you sense you’re in the presence of something very special indeed, surrounded as you are by an eclectic mix of beautiful work in glass.
Each of the artists have succeeded in showing not only how versatile and stunning glass can be as a material but also how creative and imaginative they themselves are as individuals.
Due attention had been paid to appropriate lighting and placement of individual exhibits so that the glass in all its complexity could be fully appreciated. Like fabric, interesting and varied textures revealed themselves in every piece and the rich colours of Sean Campbell’s panels for instance made bold statements against a white backdrop. I found looking at the exhibits from different angles, seeing in them reflections of other pieces, and noting nuances of colour wrought by the ever changing light outside brought something new and fresh to every encounter.
The above picture shows one my favourites from the show, a beautiful piece of work by Ciara Cuddihy.
While public exhibitions of paintings are commonplace, it is a less frequent pleasure to be invited to view glass as an art form in this country and to engage with it. Aware of this reality, I made sure to take plenty of photos on a recent visit and to linger a while in the galleries.
Roscommon to Samoa
Introduction
Long before the written word became common currency as a means of mass communication, visual art was the medium of choice for telling stories and recording details about the world around us. Centuries old cave paintings, stained glass windows in Churches and religious icons stand as examples of the ways in which colour and image can reveal aspects of life and personality. In the best examples every detail is just right, no editing required, giving the viewer time to absorb the information presented and to reflect on its significance.
When I was commissioned to create a stained glass panel to commemorate the life of a sister of the Marist order, Sr. Patrick Duffy, I spent time researching her background as I wanted to ensure that the right colours and images were chosen to tell her story, to give a sense of the life she had lived; her birthplace, her vocation and the significant contribution she made to a foreign community.
Conversations with a family member, Roisin Grier Grey, revealed that Sr. Pat had lived a very full and happy life. She was an Irish woman with a missionary zeal that led her to leave her homeland and travel to the other side of the world, to the island of Samoa, where she spent most of her life working as a teacher and passing on a love of learning to her students. To capture this vibrant life in visual form, I chose colours, shapes and images from nature to symbolize her personal history. She was by all accounts a remarkable and inspiring person so the panel is a celebration of her life and work. It will eventually find its way to a secondary school she founded in a town called Lepua in Samoa where she is fondly remembered. The glass will be presented to the school as a gift by Sr. Pat’s relatives.
The central image is of Sr. Pat herself, curvilinear in appearance to suggest movement and, by association, energy and vitality, something for which Sr. Pat was known. Her right hand points to the Caslin Hills near Strokestown in Co. Roscommon where Sr. Pat was born and grew up. Her other hand points to Lepua where she spent most of her life. The outstretched arms evoke a mood of joy and celebration in keeping with the panel’s intention to celebrate a life well lived.
The wonderful calligraphy work was done by Josephine Hardiman.
Posted in craftsmanship, Stained Glass Work
Tagged Caslin Hills, Craftsmanship, Roscommon, Samoa, Stained Glass Work
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