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.