This past summer, I was fortunate enough to have work selected by two exhibitions at the International Festival of Glass, Stourbridge, UK. ‘Nature Unsettled’ was shown in the ‘Inspired by William Morris’ British Society of Master Glass Painters touring exhibition and ‘Frog in Red’ was in the FIFTEEN x FIFTEEN Blowfish Gallery exhibition!

Like expected, I was totally floored by the artistry and craftsmanship on display at both these events; well, the whole festival really! Was simply awesome to get together with so many and such a range of practitioners from the glass community, what a weird and wonderful bunch.. and what an inspiration! I even took the opportunity to go camping for the duration of the festival and stopped in Birmingham to check out the newly restored Burne-Jones stained glass windows by (Holy Well Glass) in Birmingham Cathedral.

Nature Unsettled- ‘Troubled by the industrial revolution; visionary artist and environmentalist William Morris, sought to reconnect the general public with nature through art and craft. Today we are at similar crossroads, with the choice to either steward our natural environment or to completely destroy it and ourselves. I wanted to capture the same wonder of nature, but not without acknowledging our shortfalls.’

FIFTEEN X FIFTEEN Exhibition featured 47 artists, from 11 countries and 12 different glass techniques. The theme of the exhibit was to showcase works no bigger than 15 cm cubed. Blowfish Glass is a leading Hybrid Hot Shop and Contemporary Glass Gallery, based within a stunning grade II listed building set at the UNESCO park heritage site, Red House Glass Cone. Stourbridge which held the International Festival of Glass for many years, holds a historically rich glass-making history dating back to the 17th Century.