We were delighted to get a special invitation to visit the London Glassblowing studio to celebrate Peter Layton’s 50 years of creating wonderful works of art. Artist, pioneer, mentor, Peter is one of the founding fathers of British studio glass. He discovered the art form while teaching ceramics in the US in the mid- 1960s, and has played a major part in elevating glass from an industrial medium to a highly collectable art form. Most importantly, he gave it a home in the UK. We first visited his workshop over 30 years ago and have been keen collectors ever since.
I would just like you to pause for a moment and see what comes into your mind when you think about blown glass.
Maybe it was something like this …
But I bet it was nothing like this …
Not quite to my taste, but I am sure someone will love him.
Before we had the pleasure of visiting the store room upstairs where he resides, there was a chance to look around the the ground floor. Importantly, this is a place where things are made. While the front of the space is taken up by the gallery, at the rear is the hot shop which contains 12 resident artists. The artists create Layton’s designs during the day but are free to use the equipment to work on their own pieces in their spare time.
Here’s a picture I took two years ago …
Back to my visit last Saturday …
As usual, there was something there to suit every taste.
Pieces with a touch of humour …
Wonderful colour and shape, these are entitled Lunar Landscape …
And the totally unexpected …
But the real treat was being allowed upstairs to visit the storeroom and office.
Nothing quite prepared us for this …
All awaiting online sale, removal to the gallery or just contentedly resting there!
I’d be very happy if this was my office …
I honed in a few specific pieces …
All in all, a really lovely visit.
You can find more details about London Glassblowing here.
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