Gillies Jones Glass

A few years ago, I came across an amazing partnership – Stephen Gillies and Kate Jones. Together they make some of the most exquisite fine art glass you will ever see and watching them work in the beautiful surroundings of Rosedale Abbey in North Yorkshire is a joy to behold.

They are a unique combination of artistry and craftsmanship. The physicality needed manhandle molten glass and the skill required to blow it combines in a really special way with the artistic inspiration of nature. Stephen is the glass maker and Kate is the artistic one and their partnership has a symbiosis that’s quite remarkable. Most artists do it all themselves although many do rely on the executional skills of a team around them.

They say their work is “Drawing inspiration from the elemental beauty of their rural surroundings, Gillies Jones have developed a unique aesthetic”

It’s worth a trip out to their studio to have a look at them in action – they have special days when the glassblowing is happening and the gallery of work is worth the trip out. You can even buy some of their smaller pieces as well as commission something specific if that takes your fancy.

You can see more of their work here 

Universal Studios 100th Anniversary

I love the little idents studios have before a film. Growing up, they seemed exotic and glamorous. And I particularly like the Universal Studios one – over the years it  has heralded some great, great movies.

To coincide with their 100th Anniversary, Weta Studios (they of Lord of the Rings fame) have produced a beautiful little film encompassing the history of the ident, celebrating 100 years of film-making. It’s lovingly crafted and the combination of moving image and broadcast is beautiful.

Moebius

I noticed recently the passing of another seminal comic book artist – Moebius. The legendary and influential frenchman crossed over into films too and in my book was most famous for designing the amazing costumes in the original Alien film. I think this was his first foray into films and we have Ridley Scott to thank for that. he went on an helped with the original Tron and a few others.

He added another dimension to the look of Alien and his approach to the costume designs was really different at the time – we all thought the future would be white and clinical with futuristic fabrics. His japanese-influenced spacesuits set the benchmark for spacesuit designs (if that’s actually possible) and for me, along with Giger’s Alien, were amongst the stand out elements of the production design.

I never really delved too deep into his book work and one of his most famous books is his take on the Silver Surfer which will be my first port of call. If anyone has any other recommendations, please let me know.

You can see more of his work here.

 

Sheffield

We finished the day with a fabulous meal at The Wig and Pen – the sister restaurant to the rather brilliant Milestone – this isn’t a food post as such, but I have to say it was a perfect way to end a perfect day. And the chips were twice fried too.

Hanging around in Dublin airport

Talking about WordPress with our CTO Nic and generally catching upon things. Ireland is pregnant with anticipation for St Patricks day. Shame we couldn’t have hung around for longer.

It’s a long time since I’ve been in Dublin. It’s changed quite a bit. But I still like it.