Blowing in Alvechurch

Back up to my old haunts yesterday where a gaffer who used to work at Royal Brierley blew some of my blanks into rondels. A good experience, though none of them are an absolute 'wow'. Getting the ones I need for the hospital project is not going to be easy and is going to cost a fair amount in time, effort and money. But it is good to get away and I did get a few new ideas.

Photographer photographing

The photographer doing the RNOH photography for the interiors came today and took a few snaps of my rondels (his pic below) - to get the measure of what the space is like in my studio and what would be needed. I learned a lot about photographing glass and am very excited at the idea of working with him on this project. It seems that details of the glass installation are going to be echoed in photographs flat-mounted on aluminium in various parts of the building. So I am all enthused again about making all the pieces for it.

(c) Blink Art

Prince Rupert Drop

Terrible picture, but quite sculptural in a way. My latest piece of jewellery. Made to a brief that encourages the 'impractical'. Well, this plays on the idea of impracticability, bordering on dangerous. It's a Prince Rupert drop whose bulbous end withstands blows, whereas break the tail-end and the whole disintegrates, demonstrating the strength and explosive fragility of glass as well as its natural sculptural beauty. King Charles 1 teased courtiers with these (he liked to give them to people to hold and then tapped the end so they pulversied in the hand), so I thought why not make a wearable practical joke. As a matter of fact, I dropped it on a hard floor and nothing happened. The one on green (if you click to enlarge) shows it more clearly.

New Year

I've been hibernating these last few weeks, with very little glass activity. I ought to go in for a competition or apply for something, just to keep myself up to the mark. This fractal-of-the-day inspires me, however. There's something appealingly glassy about it.