Lybster show with a touch of glass
A GLASS engraver with a global reputation as a craftsman in his field held a special evening of chat and practical demonstrations at the Quatre Bras Gallery in Lybster.
Denis Mann talked about the art of engraving – coinciding with his solo exhibition A Lifetime of Adventures in Glass – at the standing-room only event.
Introductions came from the director of North Lands Creative (NLC) glass studio Karen Phillips, board member Ruth Maclennan and the new general manager, Laura O'Kane, who was making one of her first public appearances and also helped with the video display and filming of the event.
In her opening speech, Ruth Maclennan talked about the artist's legacy and in addressing him said: "You are very much an inspiration to starting North Lands and were very much involved in the beginning and throughout its history.
"Through the Mastermind trophy and reaching across the world with that art medium you have been able to show innovation with classical form.
Denis is perhaps most acclaimed for his work designing and engraving the BBC Mastermind trophy, starting in 1971 and recently completing his 48th. He commissioned NLC to make the bowls he will engrave for next year's trophy.
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5 / 5The new general manager said: “Denis is a highly regarded Caithness artist. This is a wonderful opportunity to meet Denis in person and gain insight into his creative approaches to glass engraving and hear about his inspirations and lifetime's work. His name is synonymous with Caithness Glass and he has deep and tangible connections to the county."
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5 / 5The retrospective collection featured highly regarded works spanning Denis' accomplished career as an artist, designer and glass engraver.
Speaking after the event, he said: "I have a range of equipment that I couldn't take here tonight so I couldn't replicate exactly how I work. I was just trying to give a basic idea of how you approach engraving and what kind of tools are involved."
He went on to say how pleased he was about the evening and the lovely comments he received at the end of the talk.
Karen Phillips said that NLC is seeking to build a "stronger glass community across Europe" with events like this and explained how, in her role as director, she was making strides to find new funding initiatives to tap into.
"As Denis touched on in his talk – the education and safeguarding of creative glass is under threat. If we do not hand down skills, like scientific glassblowing for example, then they may become extinct."
A recent NLC exhibition with demonstrations by scientific glassblower Ian Pearson helped keep these skills alive, she said, and the Denis Mann talk also provided an opportunity to fulfil the organisation's remit to "educate and sustain" in creative glassmaking.