Crispian Heath

Email:crispianheath@hotmail.com

Website:http://www.crispianheath.com

Region:North East England

Technique:Casting, Cold work, Kiln work

Occupation:Artist

Discipline:Architectural, Fine art, Sculptural

Areas of Interest:Competitions, Education, Exhibition

Product:Sculptural, Sculpture

Country:United Kingdom

County:Tyne and Wear

I have been working with glass for over thirty years. Initially I established a stained glass business, designing and making panels in South Devon. I then achieved a 1st Class Degree in Applied Arts from Plymouth College of Art where I specialized in cast glass. I relocated to the northeast, achieved an MA in Glass from Sunderland, built my own workshop and have making making cast glass ever since.

My work is inspired by landscape. I love exploring the rugged cliffs and other geological sites of Britain. It is there I am able to connect with the play of light on the natural world. My process begins when I am faced with the elements and the history of the land – the apparent as well as the unseen forces at work. The feel of the place interacts with my imagination. Glass, as a material to cast, is irresistible to me. I am inspired to design and make sculpture that interacts with light. I use the properties of transparency, refraction and reflection to create an inner world within an outer form. The process of making – from concept to realization – allows for the unexpected to take place. This can be exciting and often leads to new discoveries that inform and ensure the work is evolving. The sculptures are one-off pieces, many in private collections in the UK and abroad.