Steve's Musings
See us at 100% Design - Earls Court this September
30 Aug 2011.
With just over three weeks to go we're busy making final preparations to exhibit at the UK’s leading contemporary design event - 100% Design at Earls Court, 22nd to 25th September 2011.
Trade visitors will not be charged an admission fee as long as you register in advance.
Members of the public can visit on Sunday 24 September only. The £20 ticket price is reduced to £15 if you register in advance.
Just click here to register your details and cut down on queuing time.
Visit us on Stand D106 and be amongst the first to see our new designs being launched!
See you there!
Jackie Morris Glass Splashback Commission
16 Mar 2011.
St Davids and the surrounding area is a magnet for artists and has been for many years, drawn by the natural beauty of course. But it was not until I relocated here almost five years ago that I realised just how big the community of artists and craft makers is within this area of Pembrokeshire.
One of St Davids' residents is Jackie Morris - artist, writer and soon to be film maker who recently commissioned me to make a splashback for her newly refurbished house and fabulous attic studio just outside St Davids. The splashback was based on Jackie’s own design - a meticulously hand painted labyrinth comprised of small pebbles (found no doubt on nearby Whitesands Beach).
Jackie, fascinated by processes we use here in the studio, asked if she could come and watch and take a picture or two, eventually writing an article on the ensuing days fun, for a local magazine. The design on paper looked straight forward but glass fusing with enamels never is and we were trying something untried. It all looked good as we closed the lid of the kiln that evening after a long days work, only to return the next day to find that due to a combination of events during the firing process we had built up too much stress within the glass and eventually the panel cracked. Another day at the coalface and we finally decided to make the panel exactly as before but this time fire the main Labyrinth motif on the surface, which was a success and changed the dynamics of the piece, and I’m happy to say that the final piece is now on the wall behind Jackie’s range cooker. We are soon to commence making a sink splashback for the area around her sink in the kitchen opposite the cooker which will complement the original piece. And what, I hear you say was your renumeration for this industry? Only the original cover artwork of her beautiful book Tell Me A Dragon which hangs pride of place in my son Ruaraidh’s bedroom wall. Lucky boy!
See me in action on the Jackie Morris website.
One of St Davids' residents is Jackie Morris - artist, writer and soon to be film maker who recently commissioned me to make a splashback for her newly refurbished house and fabulous attic studio just outside St Davids. The splashback was based on Jackie’s own design - a meticulously hand painted labyrinth comprised of small pebbles (found no doubt on nearby Whitesands Beach).
Jackie, fascinated by processes we use here in the studio, asked if she could come and watch and take a picture or two, eventually writing an article on the ensuing days fun, for a local magazine. The design on paper looked straight forward but glass fusing with enamels never is and we were trying something untried. It all looked good as we closed the lid of the kiln that evening after a long days work, only to return the next day to find that due to a combination of events during the firing process we had built up too much stress within the glass and eventually the panel cracked. Another day at the coalface and we finally decided to make the panel exactly as before but this time fire the main Labyrinth motif on the surface, which was a success and changed the dynamics of the piece, and I’m happy to say that the final piece is now on the wall behind Jackie’s range cooker. We are soon to commence making a sink splashback for the area around her sink in the kitchen opposite the cooker which will complement the original piece. And what, I hear you say was your renumeration for this industry? Only the original cover artwork of her beautiful book Tell Me A Dragon which hangs pride of place in my son Ruaraidh’s bedroom wall. Lucky boy!
See me in action on the Jackie Morris website.
Fused glass panels for local school
18 Oct 2010.
I’ve been having lots of fun – and challenges! – with one of my current commissions. I am very privileged to have been commissioned by our son’s primary school to make a series of panels, which will form internal windows between the newly refurbished entrance hall and library. In keeping with the school’s coastal location, the four panels link together to form a colourful underwater scene.
Every child at the school has had the chance to design a sea creature or character and I have selected a number of these to use within the design. Each measuring just over two metres in height by nearly a metre in width, the panels are the largest I have ever made so its nerve-wracking stuff!
Once the panels have been fired, I’ll be taking them to be laminated for safety. Some photos of the finished project will be posted on our website shortly, but in the meantime here is a flavour of how they are looking, with some before and after shots.
Every child at the school has had the chance to design a sea creature or character and I have selected a number of these to use within the design. Each measuring just over two metres in height by nearly a metre in width, the panels are the largest I have ever made so its nerve-wracking stuff!
Once the panels have been fired, I’ll be taking them to be laminated for safety. Some photos of the finished project will be posted on our website shortly, but in the meantime here is a flavour of how they are looking, with some before and after shots.
Steve does a write up for Contemporary Glass Society
18 Oct 2010.
After receiving the Gold Award in the Craft & Design Awards earlier this year, the Contemporary Glass Society contacted me to see if I’d write a little article for them. It’s a bit of a ramble but if you’d like to read it please click here!Down by the sea...
08 Jul 2010.
I’ve been itching to get down to the beach with some of my latest pieces and have a play around with the camera to see what sort of pictures I could get. The boss let me have a few hours off at the weekend, so I took myself off down to Whitesands. I did get a few strange looks! Here are some of the results anyway…
Click on the photos for maximum enjoyment!
If you’re in or around St David’s this summer, call in to the studio. If I’m not there I’m probably at Whitesands :)
Click on the photos for maximum enjoyment!
If you’re in or around St David’s this summer, call in to the studio. If I’m not there I’m probably at Whitesands :)
Steve Robinson Glass collects top design award
21 May 2010.
I'm really chuffed to have ‘collected Gold’ in the Glass category of the 2010 Craft & Design Awards. We have won quite a few awards over the eight or so years we have been crafting in glass, but we always take immense satisfaction from the fact that our work is being recognised, awarded and praised. We think our work just gets better and better - and so evidently do they!Huge thanks to all who voted for my work. If you're interested in reading more about the awards, have a look at the website www.craftanddesign.net.
