It's Show Time

January and February are the months that I spend applying for fairs, events and exhibitions. March to May are the months that I find out if my glass has been accepted - or not.

It's always a case of  "you win some, you lose some" and I'm pleased to say that I have only had one rejection so far this year (so we won't talk about that)!  Form filling and application processing are time consuming: editing and selecting images of new work, making payments, writing artist's statements that fit the word count, updating CVs - all take up time. Some galleries want to see images of the actual work that is to be submitted, others just want to see a selection that represents the artist's work.  This means that for exhibitions such as Platform Gallery's Craft Open I had to make the work in advance in the hope that it would get selected (it was :) )So now I am changing the pencilled-in dates in my diary to inked-in ones, paying more fees (bleurgh) and planning how to present and display my work.  Here is my event schedule for 2015 - I am hoping to add more dates in the next couple of weeks.

14 April - 10 May Glass and Ceramics exhibition at Just Makers The Old Bath House RHS Harlow Carr North Yorkshire

23 - 25 May The Makers' Fair Saltaire Arts Trail Victoria Hall Saltaire West Yorkshire

25 April - 4 July Craft Open Platform Gallery Clitheroe Lancashire

11 - 12 July Crafted by Hand Masham North Yorkshire

15 - 16 August Art in the Pen Skipton Auction Mart North Yorkshire

A Magical Weekend

This weekend I will be taking part in Settle Storytelling Festival (11th and 12th October) at The Makers' Market  in Settle Social Club.

I'm really looking forward to this event - it was really good last year with story tellers at every venue around the town.  So, the kiln is on, the glass is hot and I'll have plenty of new stock.

Hope to see you there. Jo X

Ho! Ho! Ho!

Christmas Trees

The holidays are nearly here and I have hung up my market trader hat until 2014.  However, my Folksy shop will be open all over Christmas and I am still listing new glass, including decorations and lightcatchers.
It's not too late to buy a glassy gift for that "hard to buy for" person in your life or treat yourself to something special. Last posting dates by Royal Mail are:
2nd class Wednesday 18th December
1st class Friday 20th December
Special delivery 24th December

Kaleidoscope Dish

I will be cooking dinner for 12 on Christmas Day but then back to the studio on Boxing Day as I have some commissions and new designs to create in glass.  I hope you have a fabulous Christmas.
Jo X

Coasters

East Riddlesden Hall

I shall be at East Riddlesden Hall near Keighley this Sunday (1st December) at the Christmas Craft Fair.  The fair will be held in the Great Barn from 11am to 4pm with 25 stalls of Christmas crafts.  East Riddlesden Hall is a 17th century manor house, now owned by the National Trtust, set in lovely grounds with a duck pond and two barns. I shall be in the Great Barn and I hope you will come and say hello.  I have lots of new glass goodies including tree decorations, lightcatchers and the popular Scandi Birds. 

Poppy Commissioned Dish

Poppy Dish

I was recently commissioned to make a large glass dish to match the wallpaper design in a dining room.   Here is an example of the wallpaper and below that is my preliminary sketch. 

It was a bit tricky getting all the component parts to fit snugly but I used a combination of transparent and opal red glass to get more contrast in the petals.  The black poppy seeds are Glassline fusing paint and the dish was slumped into a 30cm square dish mould. 

Finished Glass Dish

If you would like to commission me to make you a unique glass dish please contact me through my Folksy Shop HERE.  Until you approve the design you are not committed to buy. 

Happiness is Handmade

Chapel Allerton Arts Festival

Chapel Allerton Festival 

Yikes! I have just been invited to take part in the Chapel Allerton Arts Festival's Makers' Fair and it is tomorrow!

No panic but I have glass to sort and wrap, a table to paint and a car to load. Also, must remember to go into town and get some float.  I don't know anything about this festival except that I am outdoors(!) but my friend Natasha assures me that it won't rain... hmmmm. (But what if it is windy)? OK. Better bring a plastic table covering and an umbrella too.

If you are visiting Chapel Allerton Arts Festival please visit their website HERE for more information. I will be on Wells Lane so come and say hello. 

Art in the Pen 2013

Honeycomb Glass

It's the final countdown.....
until Art in the Pen this coming weekend. The preview is on Friday night from 7pm to 9pm and then two whole days of delicious art and hand crafted loveliness will be at Skipton Auction Mart.

Labyrinth Glass

I have an entirely new range of both Honeycomb glass and Labyrinth glass dishes made for this event, with new coasters and more Scandinavian Birdies available.  So I'm really looking forward to seeing everyone at one of the best events in my exhibiting calendar. 

Scandi Birds

The Kiln is on but nobody's home....

Yikes! Only six days left until the Saltaire Arts Trail and I have more glass waiting to be fused than time to fuse it in! 

I have now finished making decorative hangings and cocktail swizzle sticks but the number of dishes waiting to be slumped is growing and I have two very large dishes still waiting to be fused AND slumped! Well, if it's not finished, it's not finished - not a lot I can do about it. Just waiting for the gift boxes to arrive this week. Gulp! 

Rainbow Cocktail Swizzle Sticks

If you are thinking about visiting the Saltaire Arts Trail then I strongly recommend that you go. Everything is FREE yes, free! With The Makers' Fair in Victoria Hall (I'll be there, hopefully near the cafe and in sight of the cake) Open Houses around the village, three exhibitions, free family activities and choirs singing outside, this is the most vibrant and exciting weekend in the calendar of Saltaire. 

Hope to see you there. X

16 Days to go!

Victoria Hall, Saltaire

Only sixteen days to go until the Saltaire Arts Trail, when I shall be showing my glass at The Makers' Fair in Victoria Hall. So, NOW is not the time to be thinking about making new designs in glass..... but I am!

I am working on some new glass hangings and "swizzle sticks" but will I get them made in time for 25 - 27 May???

A Busy Weekend

Platform Gallery Clitheroe

Saturday 27 April sees the opening of the Craft Open exhibition at The Platform Gallery, Clitheroe where I am exhibiting three pieces of glass. I will be there from 12.30 to see the prize giving and to see all the exhibits. This exhibition is open until 6th July so,if you can't make it on Saturday, there's still plenty of time to visit. 

Otley Courthouse

Sunday 28 April I shall be at Otley Courthouse as part of the Designer Craft Fair from 9.30am to 1.00pm. Entrance is free so if you are in Otley please pop in and give me a wave! 

First show of the season

Higham Village, Lancashire

I will be taking part in Higham's 40th Annual Arts and Crafts Fair from Good Friday 29 March to Easter Monday 1 April.

Well, my glass will be there even if I will not! The art and crafts will be displayed in the village school and the event is manned by volunteers. 

Higham St John's School

This event is organised by the local church and refreshments are in the village hall. I will be visiting the event over the Easter holiday weekend but I have no idea what to expect because I haven't done it before. I'm hoping to be pleasantly surprised. 

Higham Village Hall

Now all I need to do is decide which glass I will be taking..... More information about the event HERE

I Love Commissions Part 1

Four coasters

These coasters have been made as a wedding present. The customer wanted coloured transparent glass flowers but was unsure of which colours to choose, so I chose for her. Bright yellow, leaf green, emerald green and aqua blue on white and clear Bullseye glass. 

Here they are, all packaged up ready to go. I hope the bride likes them! 

If you would like to commission me to make a glass gift for you please email me HERE

Fresh from the Kiln Today

Honeycomb Dish

I got a real buzz when I opened the kiln this morning and saw that this Honeycomb dish had slumped into its mould perfectly. 

Made from clear and transparent coloured Bullseye glass, this dish is made up of a gradation of squares and rectangles, moving from greens into blues. It's great fun to make - first I flat fuse a grid of clear glass then, once cooled, layer greens and blues before refiring.  The "holes" created from the grid then form into rounded honeycomb shapes. 

This dish will be available for sale in my Folksy shop soon. 

Vessel – an exhibition of Ceramics, Glass and Plaster

Labyrinth

Vessel – an exhibition of Ceramics, Glass and Plaster at Otley Courthouse from Sunday 2nd December 2012 until Friday 11th January 2013

Creative makers Sally Storr and Jo Whitehead team up to showcase new work under the title of Vessel.  Both artists have created a collection of bowls and forms that have no definable function except to be tactile and attractive.  The purpose of the Vessel is to contain liquid or food in a hollowed form yet Sally and Jo have stretched the definition to make work that defies the practicality of a contained object.

Tipping Bowls by Sally Storr

Sally Storr is a local artist working from her studio in Sutton-in-Craven. She is fascinated with the process of making, working in a variety of media creating sculptures and installations. Her tipping bowl series may or may not have function and include press moulded and raku fired pieces, glazed slip cast porcelain, porcelain with glass inclusion and dribbled plaster. 

www.sallystorr.com

Jo Whitehead works with sheet glass to create kiln formed objects, mostly practical ware for the table and kitchen.  Her love of vibrant colour informs much of her creativity and she works from her studio in Silsden, West Yorkshire. Jo studied and worked as a textile designer before she fell in love with glass and many of her designs are based on pattern and texture.

www.glassprimitif.blogspot.com

Headlingley Heart

Glassprimitif will be at Headingley Heart and Craft on Saturday 8th December!

There will be new glass designs including sculptural labyrinth bowls and more lightcatchers.  I'm busy in the studio fusing glass for this event. Hope to see you there.

Kelbrook Arts and Craft Fair

Kelbrook, Lancashire

This weekend (3rd and 4th November) I will be at Kelbrook Arts and Crafts Fair in the Kelbrook and Sough Village Hall in Lancashire. This will only be the second time I have displayed my glass in Lancashire and I am looking forward to it.

My first venture into Lancashire was at The Ace Centre in Nelson as part of the Nelson Art Fair two weeks ago and it was really enjoyable. So, next year, I hope to be adding some Lancashire venues to my craft fair itinerary. 

Transparent glass lightcatchers

As Christmas is less than two months away I feel that it's now OK to say the C-word, Christmas, without getting booed and hissed. So my kiln has been very busy fusing glass tree decorations and ornaments which can also be used as Lightcatchers. I popped into our local haberdashery store this morning, Duttons for Buttons, to buy some pretty gingham ribbon for each decoration, as gingham is not too Christmassy and can be used to hang the decoration from the tree or in the window. 

Mosaic Decorations

And, as I have mentioned Christmas, I have just reminded myself to dust down the box of decorations in the attic and start planning our own Christmas here at Chez Glassprimitif! I like the idea of a diorama in the living room window showing a snowy village scene so, as soon as I am back from Kelbrook, I will be drawing some ideas for the window.

Kelbrook Village Hall is just off the A56 between Skipton and Colne. The Fair opens from 10.30am to 4.30pm.  I hope to see you there. 

Crafting for Christmas

Christmas Tree Decorations

I will be teaching another Glass Fusing Workshop at South Square Centre in Thornton on Sunday December 2nd 2012. 

Students will be using copper inclusions, Bullseye glass and copper wire to create their own Light Catchers and Christmas Tree Decorations. 

These fused glass decorations make fantastic gifts and not just for Christmas. Hang the Light Catchers in a window and they will reflect colour back into the room on a sunny day. The ones shown here are my own design but students are welcome to design their own. Perhaps glass penguins or santas or angels? 

Mosaic glass hangings

If you would like to find out more about the workshop you can find it on the South Square blog, Facebook Page or email HERE or call 01274 834747 to book your place. Places are limited to eight people. 

 

Light Catchers

Labyrinth Glass

Blue Labyrinth Glass Vessel

I have a huge tub of clear Bullseye cullet left over from other glass fusing projects and, although I regularly smash up pieces with a hammer, I can only use so much frit!

But, by laying the long pieces onto a flat kiln shelf and overlapping the pieces, I have formed a circular shape that slumps into a round dish mould. Layering the glass is a bit like playing "pick up sticks" and I intersperse shards of transparent coloured glass to create depth and rich colour. 

Labyrinth dish - prototype

I really like these vessels which have a great textured surface whilst retaining the fragility of glass.  The coloured glass slumps down on the clear glass to form shapes and links that hold the entire piece together. Opening the kiln door after a firing is really exciting to see how the glass forms into hollow shapes and dips. 

Medium Labyrinth dish in warm colours on white and clear glass

These unusual and beautiful dishes are now available in my Etsy shop HERE

Ilkley Arts Trail

Craiglands Hotel Ilkley

I've just found out that the venue I will be exhibiting at for the Ilkley Arts Trail will be the Craiglands Hotel in Ilkley. 
Although it's a bit off the main drag in Ilkley (it's on Cowpasture Road) The Craiglands is just a short/brisk walk from the train and bus station and there is plenty of parking. I am hoping for plenty of footfall and I will be there in person for most of the days of the Art Trail so please come and say hello.

I'm half looking forward to it, half anxious about it because, typical me, I don't have enough glass and I need to set aside some time to make some more. I do this at every show - so you think I would have learned by now! I have some new designs and colours in my head and, as I have just redecorated my studio, there is no excuse not to be productive.  I'll be posting more information about Craiglands next week - after I have had a visit there.