Screen installed

The screen is now installed and looks pretty nice - dusk was falling as we finished installing and a mist was coming down over the woodland, so this isn't the best photograph. But a professional one will follow in due course. Next glass event is an exhibition from 1 to 21 November - but then what?

Bath screen

This is our model for the bath-to-bed screen - see 31 March entry. It's going to be somewhat like this but with blues and greens as subtle colour variations. We set up a mock-up in situ this last weekend and I took some photographs, but for some reason I can't seem to upload them. No idea why.

National Memorial Arboretum

One of 5 giant seed pods installed on the Riverside Walk at the National Memorial Arboretum in Alrewas to honour children who die in hospitals. It was commissioned by Birmingham Children’s Hospital for whom I made the internal wall pieces pictured in April This is the last of the public art commissions won jointly with Matthew Lane Sanderson. You can't really see the glass detail in this picture, but it is there. The launch is this Saturday.

School launch

This is the CAD drawing the school did of the school gate which they then used to laser-cut a medallion to launch the new build of their school.

We are delighted that the school felt such pride in their gate sculpture that they used it as a motif for their plaque. All the more reason to be sad that there is a joker (or vandal) most likely outside the school, who thinks it is amusing to steel the fruit from the tree. About 20 lenses have been cut out.

And then gets renewed

The new bit of glass for the window. There hasn't been any sun since we installed it so I don't know if it diffuses as nicely as the broken one did. Quite nice.

Glass breaks

New window in our loo using my flattened glass - not properly secured on its hinges; very windy day; flapped about and broke. I had been so pleased with it and it wasn't even up as long as a week. Just enough to have looked lovely at sunset with the light coming through. That's glass for you.

In situ

Here is the tree in situ in its open position - couldn't get a picture of it closed, but that will follow when the site is free of all the building works we hope.

And here it is as it will look closed with Matt doing the final tweaks. He took out the blue lens that I'd siliconed in the day before: it probably looked too blue in the daylight. I thought I'd liked it, but his prerogative. I think we were both pretty pleased with it - and it looked just like the model.

Birmingham Children's Hospital

This is the postcard they made for the launch today of the Quiet Room and Rainbow Room installations. Tea and cake and they presented me with a bouquet which was very nice. I gave a short speech explaining the rationale behind it, but not too much as I wanted everyone to come to it with their own ideas. The reactions were very pleasing and the nursing staff said it was making a real difference to the parents. One small person exhailed a loud 'Wow!' as everyone trouped into the Rainbow Room. It was also very lovely (as well as indicative of how long this project has been going) that one of the bereaved mothers had told me she was pregnant again at oneof the consultation days and there she was with a 3-month old baby. Very heartening and renewing.

In the workshop

Matt, Stephen and myself fitting all the glass lenses into Matt's tree for the Sheffield school gates. Just that part of it and cleaning them all up next day took 14 man hours. We found ourselves pondering on the merits if public art projects versus private commissions. So much time on this one has been involved in acres of red tape and negotiating with contractors.

New commission

This may not look like much, but it is actually quite exciting as it is the site for my next commission for a screen as a room divider in a new-build private house. I'm tremendously looking forward to this one.

Rainbow Room

At last a professional photo showing the two wall pieces for the Rainbow Room at Birminham Children's Hospital. Very difficult to capture as the room is long and narrow.
Our proposal fr the National Memorial Arboretum is also accepted, so another installation to look forward to.

Glass light

This is the glass lighting piece at Vessel Gallery in Notting Hill Gate (along with two of my optical illusion pieces). The photo by Ester Segara really makes it look good. I had some reservations about it, though the idea has potential. A whole row of them down the middle of a restaurant would be quite fetching. Are there any architects out there listening?

How to Spend It

It seems I am featured in the 5 October edition of the FT's mag How to Spend It with some rather nice comments that ought be available on the link given.

I got two orders within days - which all goes to show how publicity helps.

Vessel Gallery

I am exhibiting in this show 6 to 29 October with a lighting piece that the gallery is working with me to produce. All quite exciting and a direction I would like to go in. I think there is some commercial potential in lighting. The top right picture in this poster is one of my pieces - I think it will be in the next Crafts magazine.

Lack of entries recently doesn't mean anything. I am busy designing for the two public art projects and making experimental pieces for them. But people are away on holiday and probably it will all pick up steam in September.