Last months exhibition by Richard Glass included these pieces on the bottom plinth. Two of our artists have also been selected to take part in the Glass Biennale in London later in the year. This is quite an achievement. Sarah Fell is one of the selected her work is above Richard’s and Louise Cloke is the other.

We also have two new jewellery ranges by Anne Cope, ceramic jewellery, and a new range of textile brooches, glass and gadget cases.

Why not visit our online gallery to see some work in detail?

Sarah McCormack shows her humorous and very collectable ceramics at 45 Southside in Plymouth

45 Southside continues its series of temporary exhibitions with ceramic artist Sarah McCormack. The exhibition runs from 3rd of May until 11th June 2012 at the gallery. Sarah is well known for her high-quality and quirky ceramics, particularly for her series of “stroppy” clocks.

Sarah’s work frequently explores the idea of home – from children’s drawings to her own paintings and illustrations. Recently culminating in a series of actual houses, dwellings and dovecots. These are made from stoneware, earthenware and most recently raku working with raku artist Christina Peters at Flameworks in Plymouth, who also exhibits at 45 Southside.

Sarah has been producing ceramics since studying at Sunderland College of Art & Design, where she graduated with a degree in Glass & Ceramics in 1985.

From 1998 – 2006 Sarah made ceramic multipiece panels and one piece impressed panels , techniques combining multiple glazing with incising and impressing. This experimentation has led to a very good understanding of slabwork and a wide range of mostly earthenware glazes.

Since moving to Plymouth, Sarah has returned to three dimensional work. Her current work is influenced by experiments with different clays and decorates with oxides, engobes, glazes and lustres.

Clocks with attitude by Sarah McCormack

Time consuming ceramic techniques combined with lack of available work time led to the development of a series of ‘ stroppy clocks ‘ which combine architectural form with human characteristics.

Sarah will be holding a demonstration of her techniques at 45 Southside on Sunday 6th of May 2012 from 3pm followed by a chance to meet the artist at the opening view of her exhibition. Both exhibition and the demonstration are free and all are welcome. Please see web-site for details.

Anne Cope lives in Topsham (near Exeter) and makes slab-built decorative pots and bowls and also colourful stoneware jewellery. Although she briefly did pottery evening classes at Exeter College a few years ago, she is largely self-taught. She works in her garden shed where she has an electric kiln. All her wares are fired to 1,250 degrees C.

Her ceramic jewellery does not generally include metal, except sterling silver in earrings. Everything is made by hand – no moulds or stamps or machines been used. Her colours are achieved not by glazes but by staining little batches of clay before making the beads. Transparent matt or gloss glaze is applied to bring out the colours during firing. Very strong dyed cotton thong is used to string the beads. Many of Anne’s necklaces have tie ends, which the wearer ties to length, or a little ceramic toggle. This is because ‘bohemian chic’ is the look aimed for – the opposite of dressy, clinical, twinkly. Smooth stoneware is a fantastic material for making jewellery – it is very tough and doesn’t fade or crack. It might even last for hundreds of years!

To view some of Anne’s work in more detail, please follow this link to our online gallery.

Kate’s Work is a mass of animals, insects, pods and vegetables etc, wall-mounted, suspended, free-standing and wearable. Nature is the foundation and persistent inspiration for her work, interpreted through the interlacing of the thread-like wire that she twists and weaves to shape to form her designs. Delicate yet strong, Kate’s sculptural wire-work is made from thin colour-coated copper wire, and black florist wire.

She also makes these wonderful wire-drawings. To view some of Kate’s work in more detail, please see our online gallery.

Noah designs and makes furniture, sculpture, artefacts and architectural pieces inspired by a wide variety of influences and interests incorporating the Arts and Crafts movement, Art Noveau, Art Deco, myths and legends, all delivered through his own unique sensibility. The range of materials he uses includes most metals, wood, glass and plastics, often incorporating recycled parts and objects. The techniques employed vary from hot forging to casting, laser cutting to electroplating, woodworking to silver soldering.

We have a range of his work on display including also these incense burners and copper boxes as well as the popular flying hearts.

For a selection of his work available to view in detail online, please visit our online gallery.

“I am exploring the relationships of colour and line within landscapes. I am particularly interested in the special and recessive qualities that can be achieved when two or more colours are placed next to each other”(says Louise Thompson)

Her influences include both her practical experiences with photography and cabinet making, but also potters such as E. B. Fishley and Michael Cardew.

Louise returned to Cornwall, where she grew up, and turned to ceramics just over a decade ago after living in North Devon, London and Bristol working in commercial photography and cabinet making.

We still love to show his work and he has just delivered some fabulous new pieces. His work has moved on a great deal and he now combines is glassblowing skills with precision handcutting of surfaces creating stunning visual effects. This is best demonstrated when light plays with his work like these Dragon’s Egg vases. The other images show Woven vases and his lanterns, which look fantastic in the sunlight! I also like how all the pieces are colourmatched and would look fab together in a group.

The month started with an event for Richard Glass, whose glass work we are featuring this month and until the 17th of April. To see more of his work, please click on the tag in the right hand column. The work has been so popular, that Richard had to deliver some more work this week to fill the gaps, as it was looking a bit bare.

We have also had deliveries this week by Lincoln Kirby-Bell and his popular tableware.

More new deliveries include new work by Richie Alli. Richie, another very talented Plymouth glass blower, has made the ‘Woven‘ vases visible below as well as a new range of ‘Dragon Egg‘ vases on the right.

We have also got new candlesticks and silver plated boxes by Noah Taylor and more new metalwork by Melanie Guy who works in pewter. She calls her work wall sculptures. To find out more, please see the previous post on her new work.

A warm wlecome to a new artist to 45 Southside. Louise Thompson is based in St Yves and well known for her ceramics. Watch out for her work in more detail on this blog very soon. Her work can be seen in the foreground of the image on the left.

“Working in pewter metal I capture an essence – a Zen-like character through concise and controlled statements. I explore the play of light on the surface of my material through subtle textural marks and often use patination methods to make significant expressive marks, enhancing these with applied metal powders.” says Melanie Guy

We have just had some new work in the gallery by Melanie Guy. I always like her work for the tranquility, subtleness and craftmanship in each piece. Melanie works with metal in unusual ways, hand raising pewter sheet to make vessels. She makes wall sculptures suitable for design and fine art environments, domestic or corporate and will consider commissions for specific works.

She is a member of SW Sculptors Association and a Fellow of the Society of Designer Craftsmen.

he experimented with projects involving light and transparency, using salt, fat and sugars for casting. This experimental work led him to an interest in glass … “as well as having an apt last name … ”.

Richard relished the idea of learning a skill, feeling that craftsmanship validated his work as

an artist. He returned to Plymouth and was awarded an HND in Ceramics and Glass followed

by an honours degree in Applied Art from Plymouth College of Art and Design.

Richard gained further experience working at Dartington Crystal as a production glassmaker, leaving Dartington Crystal and Devon to study glass design, gaining a Masters Degree from Sunderland University in 2003.

After returning to the South-West he realised his ambition to have his own studio identity,

“Fluid Glass”. In 2005 Richard moved his studio to Teign Valley Glass at Bovey Tracey, where

he is developing his own line of high quality decorative and sculptural glass.

Richard has quickly established himself as an artist known for his energetic, yet precise and well balanced, elegant glass sculptures. His works make innovative use of colour and movement within the glass and are always finished to a high standard.

Richard says that his designs “feel a little retro but have a contemporary twist”. He hopes that, “the last pieces of glass I ever make will be close to my very first efforts… Only by then they will be informed and refined”

With this in mind, Richard created his Ocean bowls especially for this exhibition. Richard spent some time working as a glass-blower in the old glassworks (today a restaurant) right here on the Barbican. The bowls were inspired by his memories of his work on the Barbican.