Snowy Scene From Templepatrick, Co Antrim

I took this image earlier today at the Hilton Hotel in Templepatrick, Co Antrim. It's a picture to the 1st Hole of the golf course, unfortunately it's been over 4 weeks since it has been playable and will probably a good few weeks until it sees play again. Looks picturesque though.

Compostable Bags

It really annoys me when you buy compostable bags for your food waste and they decompose before they even see the bin. How is this saying resources if you have to throw half of them away!!!

Commission Finished

I finally finished the small commission I had for a wedding present on Saturday and managed to negotiate the snow to get into Belfast to deliver it on Monday. Unfortunately it was such a rush to get it done in time I forgot to take an image of it!

Last Sunday at St George's Market before Christmas

It was the last day of Sunday trading before Christmas at St George's Market. But most probably not the best day for all the market staff who had there Christmas Party last night!

Brilliant band playing and great atmosphere, even if not as busy as we expected but there was snow on the ground.

Now looking forward to getting ready for Christmas. Belfast here I come!!!

It's Snow Business

I seem to have had a hectic couple of weeks what with making and selling at St George's Market as well as having a small glass commission to make for a wedding present for a couple getting married over Christmas.

The weather conditions are not helping either with about 18 inches of snow on the ground by this morning. But everything is finally finished and once St George's Market is over tomorrow (Weather permitting) I can at last start my Christmas shopping and getting ready for Christmas.

Professional Development: Successful Trade Event Planning

A Professional Development Day for Craft businesses and designer-makers wishing to exhibit at trade events and craft fairs.

The event will provide all the steps required to have a successful show including planning, people, promotion, display, and funding and follow up.

The day will be hosted by Clare Phillips and Michelle Bowen, specialist consultants working within the Crafts who will share their experience of the leading trade events for the crafts and design sectors within the UK and Internationally.

They will shed light on events from the buyer, commissioner and collectors perspective.

Teri Kelly PR will be advising on contacting and liaising with the press in order to maximize your profile at an event.

I attended this development programme on Tuesday and couldn't rate it any higher. It gave you all you needed to know in a very precise and informative way and well worth it for anybody thinking about exhibiting at a trade show or craft fair.
The best professional training day I have attended in a long time. Now just left with loads of homework and research and some research trips next year!

Christmas Craft Market at St George's Market

I finally managed to secure a stand at this years Christmas Craft Market at St George's Market, Belfast which was today.
What a great day and so nice to see so many people shopping and supporting local artists and crafts people, as well as allowing the customer to talk to the artist responsible for their products. I had a good day of sales and secured a small commission.
So nice to speak to people who appreciate your work and value it and the time it takes to make it! Looking forward to trading again next Sunday. Now for a little lying in the morning

Success

I have just found out that my submissions for the Christmas Exhibition at SpaceCraft in Belfast have been excepted and I will be in the exhibition, which has a preview evening tonight from 6pm - 8pm. All welcome

Submissions Delivered to SpaceCraft's Christmas Exhibition

After a very stressful day trying to get everything framed and finished on time, I finally delivered all my entries to SpaceCraft this morning for this years Christmas exhibition. Now keeping my fingers crossed that they all get excepted.
The exhibition opens next Thursday night at SpaceCraft from 6pm to 8 pm so not long to wait.

Get Your Stockings Out For Christmas

Here is my unframed and unfinished entry for SpaceCraft's "Get you stocking out for Christmas". The Idea is that the Stocking represents you and your practice, so I have placed some of my favourite tools in mine that I use on a day to day basis. I hope you like it it's meant to be fun!. I've sandblasted back some blue flashed glass and fire polished it in the kiln

Spacecraft Christmas Exhibition

I have been busy making some things for SpaceCrafts Christmas exhibition these include some angels and stars for festive forest which are decorated miniature christmas trees. I'm also submitting a couple of other things to the exhibition. So fingers crossed they will be finished in time. One piece still needs framing and the other one is still in the kiln. The deadline is 4.30 pm tomorrow!

St George's Sunday Market

I have taken the plunge and taken a stall at St George's Sunday Market in Belfast. It's only as a casual trader so means getting up at the crack of dawn every Sunday morning to queue outside the market for a space. Luckily it hasn't been to cold the last two Sundays, but the queue of people looking for spaces is getting longer. Maybe I should take my bed next week.

Jasmine's Hand & Foot Prints

I'm quite please with the results. I needed to uses a bit more glass in a few of them & also I have got different results from the different glasses I have used. Also the way the glass has been placed in the mould has had an effect. So lots to learn, but the firing cycle was good for the bullseye glass but needs to be higher for artista. I love the bottom two casts the best. One uses course clear frit and the other light plum bullseye glass. Now to see what I do with them next.......

Ready for Firing

Here are a few of the moulds of Jasmine's hand & footprints with the glass added ready to fire in the kiln. I have used a few different types of glass to see the different effects I might get. I can't wait to see the results I get.

Moulds Are Made

I finally got time to make the moulds to cast Jasmine's hand & footprints. I just need to allow them to dry for a while before firing in the kiln. Then I can place the glass in them and fire them in the kiln. Watch this space!

Jasmine's Hand & Foot Prints

I took the opportunity to take some imprints of Jasmines hand & footprints when I was over in Wales. Watch this space to see what I do with them.

New Addition To The Family Clan

My baby brother became a dad for the first time on Thursday 30th September 2010. His is now a proud daddy to Jasmine Olivia Griffiths who was born at 3.24pm weighing in at 6lb 14oz. Congratulations to you and Donna.

Tax Return

Play suspended today to complete my tax return on-line!!!!!

Portfolio

After a recent meeting with my mentor Rachel O'Neill, appointed to me by the "Creative Thirst" programme I was recently involved with she has been giving me a lot of advise especially about my portfolio. So over the last week I have been busy revisiting it and making some major changes. I still need to get a photographer to take some images of my work, but it's going in the right direction.

Design for Antrim Hospital

I have been busy over the last week putting together a proposal for a commission at Antrim Hospital. Unfortunately I didn't manage to get everything done in the time I had but here are some of the designs I was working on.

Back to Work

Time to pull up my socks and get back to work after the summer break with the kids, family and friends. The To Do List is already running away with me! Lots of ideas, projects and proposals to work on. Watch this space!

The Summers Over

The summers finally over. The Kids are finally back at school and college after what has to be the longest summer holidays ever. Maybe I will finally get some time to get back in my studio to start designing and making.

When It Goes Wrong it Goes Really Wrong

When things go wrong the the studio they can go really wrong. I was attempting to make a few fused glass bowl, which involves a two stage process. Nothing really hard about that and a process I have done quite a few times before. So glass was cut and cleaned and placed on the kiln shelves and placed in the kiln to fire.

On opening the kiln the following morning all seemed well but when I removed the 1st kiln shelf I was greeted with two fused circles that had totally cracked. The only explanation to this was, there could not have been enough kiln separator on the shelves and the glass had stuck to the shelves. A very costly mistake to make and one that shouldn't have happened. I know I prepared the shelves really well and had also pre-fired them.

I just wish I had gone with my gut instinct and lined them with thin fire fibre paper. My gut instinct has been letting me down a lot recently. Needless to say I have also changed my brand of kiln separator too!

Quiet Protest

I was driving through Dungiven on Tuesday on my way to Londonderry. It was the day that the report into "The Bloody Sunday Riots" and drove past this on the side of the road. Too me it spoke volumes. It was a quiet protest, but said more to me than if the streets had been filled with protesters.

Creative Thirst Update

I have now been on the Creative Thirst Programme for three weeks and have covered lots of topics to do with setting up a business in the creative industries. It's all going well and I have even managed to travel home one night with no rain!.

I'm starting to know the A6 Like the back of my hand and especially The Glenshane Pass which is very picturesque where you can see the peat bogs that are still cut by hand in the traditional way. I'm just glad I'm doing it at this time of year and not in the dead of winter.

The programme does involve a lot of research and things and it's easy to lose a night looking at the web, but a lot of ideas are coming out of it too. The downside is I'm not getting as much making time at the moment.

Swansea Architectural Glass Institute Turns 75 - BBC News

Here is a link to a Video article that my son Tom found on BBC News Wales online tonight. If you are interested in Stained glass or are an old student of the Welsh School of Glass it may interest you. Take a look.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/help/6915817.stm

Ballyclare May Fair

Today is the busiest day of the year in Ballyclare with the opening of the May Fair. It was traditionally a fair that was held twice a year and origins began on the 16th December 1756 when George II granted to the Earl of Donegal the right to hold

'two fairs yearly at the Town and Lands of Ballyclare'

At first the fairs were markets for animals and goods but as they grew to four in a year it was the May and November fairs which became the most important as it was there that the farmers hired their labouring men and servant girls for the next six months. The May Fair was traditionally held on a Tuesday in late May but in the nineteenth century such was the demand for horses that the Monday was given over to the trade. One dealer alone brought a hundred horses each year while others came into Ballyclare riding bareback and leading a string of horses. Representatives of cavalry regiments from all over Europe came to buy as the reputation of the fair spread.

From the photo's you will see that the horse sale is still running but on a much smaller scale. It still takes place in the square with more food stalls than anything else. But the kids are happy as they always get Half day at school.

Architectural Glass Design Degree Show

National Waterfront Museum, Swansea
5–20 Jun 10am-5pm
The Welsh School of Architectural Glass at Swansea Metropolitan University presents a spectacular display of work by graduates as part of the 75th anniversary of Europe's oldest architectural glass course.

A Glimpse into the Archives: 75th Anniversary of the Welsh School of Architectural Glass

Glynn Vivian Art Gallery, Swansea
Room 1: 1 May - 20 June 2010
Swansea Metropolitan University's Welsh School of Architectural Glass is celebrating its seventy-fifth anniversary following a long and illustrious past during which it has become a major world centre for glass art.

Students from the School have won an unprecedented number of awards and prestigious competitions and their creations can be found in collections across the world. The School's commercial arm, the Architectural Glass Centre (AGC), has been involved in high-profile projects, including the installation of windows for the restoration of St. Teilo's Church from Llandeilo Tal-y-Bont, now at St Fagans: National History Museum, near Cardiff. Many leading glass practitioners have graduated from Swansea including Alexander Beleschenko, Mark Angus, Martin Donlin, Graham Jones, Catrin Jones, Chris Bird-Jones, Sarah Hall, Amber Hiscott, Vanessa Cutler, David Pearl and Sachiko Yamomoto, all of whom have international reputations.

The Welsh School of Architectural Glass has remained at its Alexandra Road home for the past seventy-five years. It also has a permanent exhibition space in the National Waterfront Museum, Swansea. It still stands as the only purely architecturally-based glass School in the world. The anniversary will be marked with events and exhibitions throughout 2010. This exhibition, whilst modest in scale, offers an exciting glimpse into the School's history and includes designs, drawings photographs and artefacts from the process of stained glass making.

I had an opportunity to go along and look at the exhibition on Saturday and it was well worth the visit and even saw one of the images from one of my stained glass panels used in one of the archive folders. Also bumped into some old fellow students for a chat which is always nice.

Manipulated Fauna Photo's