Archives: Artists

I have exhibited my art every year since 2006.
My creative impulse comes “from the heart” – my unique works often have a story behind them, or are inspired by Finnish nature. I was delighted to exhibit in the Finnish Glass Museum’s centenary exhibition, May to November 2017, when 100 glass objects and their stories celebrated Finland’s 100 years of Independence.
As I am always eager to try something new, my portfolio is always expanding.

I sell my glass through local galleries and craft events and have exhibited at national events including the Great Northern Contemporary Craft Fair, ‘Art in the Pen’, ‘Glorious Glass’, St Helen’s and the Great North Art Show, Ripon.
I make a range of glass pieces from jewellery and platters to larger wall mounted panels and individual commissions. In my work I combine the processes of fusing glass with sandblasting and traditional stained glass techniques. Fluidity and depths are further explored through layers of colour and surface decoration with sandblasting and metallic lustre paints.
Currently I am experimenting with the firing of organic materials within glass – dried seed heads, grasses and leaves – to capture the process of decay over time.

Abstract and asymmetrical are the words that most accurately describe my design style. Inspiration comes from painting, sculpture, architecture, design, fashion, jewellery — almost anywhere I see something that I think could work in glass. I am particularly drawn to both mid-century modern art and Japanese design, and artists that have had a significant influence on my design sensibility include Malevich, Ben Nicholson and Tapies.

I use traditional lead came and copper foiling techniques, making a wide range of work including large scale garden sculptures. I design and create my own ideas, as well as responding to gallery led demand and commissions, including work for some National Trust shops.

Training
I love working with stained glass and have attended numerous glass courses in a number of different colleges over the last 20 years including several at the National Glass Centre in Sunderland .

Recent exhibitions include major show at Liuli Glass Museum Taipei and ‘Salon of Art and Design, New York with Adrian Sassoon. Colin is currently working on a major museum commission.

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. Most of my work are one-off pieces, many in private collections in the UK and abroad