100% design

i've been looking at my ever growing list of 'to do's and noticed that i've been bumping the 'update blog' bit for a week or two. as usual working, sleeping, eating and the in-between bits have been getting in the way of blog time. i have a (very disciplined) friend bethan laker, who (when not on maternity leave) has 'blog fridays', which is an idea that i fully intend to borrow.... at some point....

anyhoooo, this morning i found this blog: sorry i haven't posted, and it seems that although the reasons vary, i am not alone in my blog-neglect.

so i will skip the apologies of absence, (we're all to busy to read that stuff anyway, right?) and just let you know that i will be at 100% design, earls court in london next week (23-26th september) with a group of other artists and designers from the north east. i haven't been before, but i've heard it's good and not to be missed.

to the world brand new....

...is an exhibition of new work by myself and glass artist phil vickery (not to be confused with the tv chef or rugby player).

it's the first traditional gallery show i've done in a while and i have to say it has been a delight! washington arts centre have been fantastic, especially curator susannah and technician duncan, who have treated us like 'proper artists' from first contact, right through to the opening night.

it has been great to get my head around some new work and resolve ideas that have been buzzing round my head for the past couple of years, in particular castle in the sky (pictured, top) a mixed media installation, which i mentioned as an 'idea in progress' in my first blog back in february. the exhibition combines installation with more representational neon pieces, birdhouse for the soul (pictured middle) and the abstract neon and concrete luna fossils (pictured, bottom) to explore ideas about home; the imaginary, the abstract and the actual. the lovely people at the crack magazine recommend you go see it if you can!

to the world brand new is showing at washington arts centre, tyne and wear from now until the 16th of october.

the summer so far...

the good thing about this summer is that i've been really busy with conferences, exhibitions, festivals, making new work and contacts. the bad time about this summer is that i've had so much on, i haven't had time to blog about it!

june saw me stateside, firstly in louisville, kentucky for the glass art society conference, which was as exciting and exhausting as usual. after the conference i headed on to new york for a few days, where i saw some amazing art, enjoyed the sunshine and walked about 500 miles. i returned to the uk with a stack of business cards from new contacts, a head full of ideas and the need to sleep for a week! highlights of the trip were discovering the 21c museum hotel, louisville, that not only had a full blown gallery in the lobby, but also made killer martinis, and art-jacking moma, new york. no seriously, i really art-jacked moma.

in july i was at art in action at waterperry gardens, demonstrating making my work and showing in the best of the best exhibition. it's the third year i've been invited and was definitely my best show yet; four days of camping, glass bending, and non stop talking! one of the 25,000 visitors was Teleri l-j from the crafts council, who included an image of my best of the best exhibit in her blog about the festival.

staying out for the summer!

is it really june already?!

may marched by at a ferocious pace with the late shows and a radio interview gari from the culture thing, proving to be the perfect warm up to what is looking to be a busy and exciting summer.

as well as enjoying the recent sunshine i've been preparing to head stateside this week for the glass gathering of the year; the 40th annual glass art society conference in kentucky. i'm looking forward to three frenetic days of exhibitions, demos, lectures and catching up with colleagues from all over the world, before heading to new york for a few days of research and 'gallery bashing'.

photographs: fire and lots of it! late shows @ mushroom works.

tall man in my studio, late shows @ mushroom works.

pylons in saltwell park, work in progress.

it's a living thing

it's finally spring! which means it's time for living north live. taking place at the newcastle racecourse on the 26th, 27th and 28th of march, it is billed as one of the north's social and shopping highlights (!) featuring the very best products and ideas in interiors, homes, gardens and my personal favorite - food. I will be showcasing pieces of work from my want it! range with wok by bettina nissen, michael armstrong (afid design) and nick james under the banner of mushroom works. 

come along and say hi.

photograph: cariboo  sarah blood,  2009

lights, cameras, achtung!

i have john, a student from newcastle college in my studio this morning. he's photographing my studio and work for his final year project, so while he's doing lighting tests (not easy when it comes to neon) and before i have to pose for mug shots, i thought i'd catch up on a bit of blogging.

there's a lot going on in the north east at the moment. if you're in the gateshead area between now and may 19th , you have to visit the baltic centre for contemporary art for the jenny holzer and jordan baseman exhibitions. the preview on wednesday was nothing short of amazing. rumor has it the holzer exhibition, which is spread over two floors, utilizes 48,000 leds, it certainly makes for a hypnotic experience. bateman's narratives are equally seductive, yet visually couldn't be more different.  both exhibitions are definitely not to be missed! 

while you're in an arty mood the kitch-en gallery gallery is also worth a visit with great originals and limited edition prints on sale by urban artists such as craww, the cloud commission, and my personal favorite jess douglas. but you have to be quick, the red, or in this case pink dots were flying up thick and fast at the preview last night and the gallery is only open saturday 6th and 13th of march. 

photographs top to bottom: john hipkin measuring light, jenny holzer monument (detail) 2008, the cloud commission - forgotten the title, sorry carl!

"that's proper mint , that!"

this morning i delivered some finished pieces of work to a couple of very happy recipients. i've recently been working with helix arts  doing a number of glass and neon workshops with youth offending teams in the region. these pieces (pictured) were made by two of the participants, neither of them had worked with glass or neon before. when i asked if they liked what they'd made, the response was "that's proper mint, that!". i thought it was pretty good too.

first entry - yikes

i've always been slightly obsessed with electricity pylons, but recently noticed that for about a year now i've been drawing them with houses on top. spurred on by the upcoming home sweet home exhibition at mushroom works and wondering what it all means, i decided to dig a little deeper and use this as a starting point for a new body of work. pictures will follow.... promise!!