It’s been a while since I last did an article about art and thought I would take a few pictures of some of my best and most treasured items.
The first is our most recent purchase at the Craft Festival which takes place in Bovey Tracey every June. This is the second time we’ve been to the festival and the original intention was to collect a previously paid for item and not purchase anything new, however that didn’t go quite to plan and the item below ended up coming home with us.
It’s hard to tell from the pictures but the middle is hollow whilst the yellow / ochre / gold colour seems to float in mid-air. The clear glass is a very slight shade of green, almost pale mint and in the sunshine the colours are really bright. From every angle you get a new perspective and it brightens up the room, no matter the weather outside.
The second item is another one we bought whilst collecting a larger piece from the artist and again it wasn’t something we intended to buy but it was too good to miss. To me the colours and shapes in the glass suggest a clear blue sea in an exotic location with coloured starfish. It usually sits on a windowsill and when the sun shines through it the colours really come out.
The final item (did I leave the best to last?) is probably my favourite. It reminds me of liquorice allsorts and is an example of Murrini glass, where panels of different coloured glass are fused into clear glass. Like the other items above, the effect of the various colours and shapes in the glass changes when viewed from different angles. It’s simply stunning in my opinion and I’m so grateful to be the custodian of it.
All three pieces were created by Graeme Hawes, an artist who I’ve got to know quite well over the last 3 years. Graeme is a master of his craft and is more than happy to take the time to explain how he creates his pieces. He regularly attends art fairs and has a website where you can view and purchase his items – https://grhawesglass.co.uk/ We visited Graeme at his workshop in Leicester in 2022 and it was fascinating to hear how the glass is first blown and then cut into the shapes required before being polished. It’s quite a long process and goes some way to explain why these pieces aren’t exactly cheap, but they give us great pleasure which is hard to put a price on.
Hope you enjoyed this article. In part two I’ll show you a few more of my favourite things.
© text & images Reggie 2024
