I was born on the Isle of Wight and after moving to a few locations I finished my schooling in Banchory near Aberdeen, Scotland. I graduated from Gray’s School of Art, Aberdeen with an honours degree in Fine Art specializing in sculpture. My final Artworks, produced for my Degree show, utilised glass and plastics to create sculpture which had op-art qualities and were deeply concerned with geometry and symmetry. I have kept a key interest into exploring those areas in my artworks throughout my career.
Later, I pursued my interest in glass and I worked for a number of years at a stained glass studio in Scotland eventually working for a time as a freelance window designer and traditional glass painter.
In 2001, I moved to Manchester. It was at this time where I discovered glass fusing and kiln-forming glass techniques and over two years, in my spare time, I experimented and taught myself these glass-working techniques. Few years later, I set up my business producing traditional glass craft and kiln-formed glass art. Since then I have developed my glass into an extensive portfolio of contemporary glassware, including items such as Kaleidoscopes, Glass Bowls, Glass Platters, Wall Art, Glass Vases and other glass interior home wares. Over the years I have also enjoyed creating many exciting glass commissions and I have exhibited my glass art works extensively around Britain and internationally. My range of kiln-formed glass is constantly evolving and my current collection of work is concerned strongly with pattern forming. You can see some examples of these in my gallery HERE. Every piece is designed and hand-made to be a high quality, unique piece of art. My work constantly evolves and this evolution is assisted by the involvement of my clients and if you are interested in commissioning your own handmade piece of glass art then please do not hesitate to contact me to discuss your interest.
The inspiration behind my glass work comes from a love of optical art, traditional pattern-forming and an interest in sacred geometry and in particular the meditation symbols known as mandalas. Mandalas contain many of the principles important in the esoteric practice of geometry, utilised by craftsmen for centuries in the design of cathedrals and stained glass windows. This interest is realised in my most recent range of work. In this range I am embodying the essence of mandalas into the patterns present within each individual hand-made piece of glassware. The techniques I use are similar to mosaic work, each individual point of colour is an individual piece of glass arranged in a manner which produces a kaleidoscopic, op-art effect. The combination of colours, which I carefully choose, are designed to complement the pattern which is formed within the glass.
Each piece of work is carefully and laboriously constructed by initially forming a sheet of striped, coloured glass which is consequently fired to a solid piece in a kiln. This piece of striped glass is then cut down into smaller pieces which are then constructed into the patterns present in my finished works. The production of the patterns require a high level of accuracy and patience and once formed are fired in the kiln up to three times in total and go through extensive cold-working using diamond abrasives to ensure each piece achieves the best quality finish. This complex way with which each piece is hand-made also ensures that each piece of glass that I manufacture is a unique work of glass art.