Celebration of Craftsmanship in Clerkenwell

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Celebration of Craftsmanship in Clerkenwell

Adam Aaronson is participating in the prestigious Celebration of Craftsmanship exhibition at Craft Central, in London’s Clerkenwell. The exhibition runs from 16-20th May. It is open from 12 noon until 7pm every day and is part of Clerkenwell Design Week 2017.

Celebration of Craftsmanship

Celebration of Craftsmanship usually takes place in Cheltenham in August. This exhibition at Craft Central is designed as a preview or taster of some of the artists selected for the Cheltenham show. The main exhibiton in Cheltenham is considerably larger than the London exhibition.

Clerkenwell Design Week

Clerkenwell is one of London’s largest design hubs. Apparently, there are more creative businesses and architects per square mile than anywhere else in the world.  Clerkenwell Design Week celebrates this rich and diverse community. The event showcases leading UK and international brands and companies. These are presented in a series of showroom events,  exhibitions and special installations that take place across the area.

Celebration of Craftsmanship

Journey down memory lane

Craft Central, in St John’s Square is located less than five minutes walk from Turnmill Street, where Adam Aaronson’s first studio was situated from 1987 to 1989.

Adam says “It is very exciting to be back in Clerkenwell and to be exhibiting round the corner from my old studio. I found that this brought back many happy memories. The neighbourhood has changed enormously since the eighties and there is much more going on”.

Celebration of Craftsmanship

Visitors to Celebration of Craftsmanship will find a good selection of Adam’s landscape bowls and vases. Adam is also exhibitin some of his dramatic new lustre bowls. The works displayed are all unique one-off pieces. prices range from £175 to £750.

The main Celebration of Craftsmanship Exhibition takes place in Cheltenham during August. Adam will also be exhibiting there with a wider selection of his work. If you would like an invitation to the August exhibition please email Adam.

Collectors who are interested in contemporary makers, working in different disciplines, will find that this exhibition is well worth a visit.

Celebration of Craftsmanship Celebration of Craftsmanship Celebration of Craftsmanship

SAOS Hot Glass Taster Courses June 2017

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Hot Glass Taster Courses

Click here for our 2018 Taster Courses

Hot Glass Taster Courses with Adam Aaronson during SAOS – Surrey Artists Open Studios June 2017
Hot Glass Taster Courses

This year, in addition to our popular “Make a paperweight, heart, bird or bauble” hot glass taster courses, (up to 10 people per session), we have also added two exciting new taster courses. These are: “Make a tumbler or bowl”, (up to 8 people per session) and “Make a goblet or wine glass” (up to 6 people per session).

 

GREAT FOR NOVICES

Hot Glass Taster CoursesYou don’t need any experience for any of these hot glass taster courses, as we take you through the process carefully. While they are mainly attended by adults, they are open to all ages from 9 upwards. Please note that children need to be accompanied by a parent or other responsible adult. Please advise when booking if participants will be under 18. And if you would like to make more than one item, just book two spaces!

These taster courses are dynamic, hands-on workshops in which each participant makes their own coloured glass object from a choice of styles. These short courses mainly take place during Surrey Artists Open Studios in June. We also hold some hot glass taster courses during the four day Guildford Heritage Week in September. In November and December we have regular Christmas Bauble making courses. Our short courses are not available at other times of the year, except to groups (see https://adamaaronson.com/glassblowing-courses-group-bookings/). We also have longer, more intensive, beginners’ glassblowing courses almost every weekend – see here.

Hot Glass Taster CoursesEach session starts with a safety briefing and then Adam Aaronson gives a demonstration showing the method that each person will use, with assistance from Adam and one of his assistants, Will, Candice or Gina, to make their paperweight or other item. We adapt to each individual’s ability, giving you more or less assistance as required. Next, each person chooses their colours and style and works in turn on an individual basis with Adam and his assistant to create their unique piece. Your creations have to be annealed overnight and are generally ready for collection 48 hours after the course. Photographs are encouraged, so bring your camera or your phone and make sure it is charged up!

 

 

 

HERE ARE DATES, PRICES AND TIMES:

Week 1

Saturday June 3 – Hot glass taster courses

Choose between making a paperweight, heart, bird or bauble £40 – 10.30am to 12pm

Blow a tumbler or bowl £50 – 12.30pm to 2pm

Make a paperweight, heart, bird or bauble £40 – 4.30pm to 6pm

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Sunday June 4 – Hot glass taster courses

Blow a tumbler or bowl £50 – 10.30am to 12pm

Choose between making a paperweight, heart, bird or bauble £40 – 12.30pm to 2pm

Make a paperweight, heart, bird or bauble £40 – 4.30pm to 6pm

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Week 2

Thursday June 8 – Hot glass taster courses

Blow a tumbler or bowl £50 – 4pm to 5.30pm

Choose between making paperweight, heart, bird or bauble £40 – 6pm to 7.30pm

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Friday June 9 – Hot glass taster courses

Blow a goblet £75 – 11am to 12.30pm

Make a tumbler or bowl £50 – 4.30pm to 6pm

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Saturday June 10 – Hot glass taster courses

Choose between making a paperweight, heart, bird or bauble £40 – 10.30am to 12pm

Blow a tumbler or bowl £50 -12.30pm to 2pm

Make a paperweight, heart, bird or bauble £40 – 4.30pm to 6pm

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Sunday June 11 – Hot glass taster courses

Blow a tumbler or bowl £50 – 10.30am to 12pm

Choose between making paperweight, heart, bird or bauble £40 – 12.30pm to 2pm

Make a paperweight, heart, bird or bauble £40 – 4.30pm to 6pm

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Hot Glass Taster Courses

Week 3

Thursday June 15 – Hot glass taster courses

Make a goblet £75 – 2pm to 3.30pm

Blow a tumbler or bowl £50 – 4pm to 5.30pm

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Friday June 16 – Hot glass taster courses

Make a paperweight, heart, bird or bauble £40 – 11am to 12.30pm

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Saturday June 17 – Hot glass taster courses

Choose between making a paperweight, heart, bird or bauble £40 – 10.30am to 12pm

Blow a tumbler or bowl £50 – 12.30pm to 2pm

Make a paperweight, heart, bird or bauble £40 – 4.30pm to 6pm

 —————————————————————————————–

Sunday June 18 – Hot glass taster courses

Make a tumbler or bowl £50 – 10.30am to 12pm

Choose between making a paperweight, heart, bird or bauble £40 -12.30pm to 2pm

Make a paperweight, heart, bird or bauble £40 – 4.30pm to 6pm

Hot Glass Taster Courses

Booking

To book any of these hot glass taster courses:

Phone  01483 375035 to book, or email adam@adamaaronson.com

Payment in full is required with booking and this can be made by card over the phone.

If you are emailing to book, please could you include your phone number, so we can contact you to arrange payment. NB We usually reply to emails within 24 hours. Unfortunately, sometimes our reply may end up in your junk mail, so if you haven’t heard from us, please check your junk mail folder.

Many thanks to Tony Waghorn, who recently attended one of our half-day beginners’ courses, for the images used on this page.

 

Dramatic Rainbow Glass Rope Bridge

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Adam Aaronson is exhibiting a dramatic Rainbow Glass Rope Bridge at Birtley House.

Asked about the inspiration and thought process behind his dramatic rainbow glass rope bridge, Adam said:

“I often think that all people, regardless of their background, are really just in different phases of a similar metaphorical journey. Each person is seeking the security and happiness, which perhaps they can find at the end of the rainbow.

Dramatic Rainbow Glass Rope Bridge by Adam Aaronson

 

“For some, however, life can also involve a literal journey. A refugee, for example, seeking a safe haven, is likely to be on a long journey full of pitfalls, sometimes needing to cross several frontiers. Whereas a commuter on the daily trudge to work may see life as a treadmill. But their journey is nowhere near as precarious. However, sometimes if the traffic is held up or the train is delayed, the commuter can feel that the world is falling apart. Everything is relative and in reality the commuter knows that their future is secure.”

Dramatic Rainbow Glass Rope Bridge by Adam AaronsonDramatic Rainbow Glass Rope Bridge by Adam Aaronson

Adam intends his ‘Rope Bridge’, aside from being a dramatic and colourful sculpture,  to be an allegory for this journey. Of course the journey is much more uncertain for some than for others. Life is full of pitfalls. What could be more precarious than a rope bridge made of glass?

Dramatic Rainbow Glass Rope Bridge by Adam Aaronson

“I have deliberately created a form with bright colours that echo a rainbow, perceiving this as a metaphor for our times. What we will find at the end of the rainbow?”

Adam has installed the ‘Rope-Bridge”  at the edge of the lake at Birtley and it crosses the water to an island, which seems like a safe haven. Visitors have commented that the reflections in the water are enchanting.

Dramatic Rainbow Glass Rope Bridge by Adam Aaronson

Other installation possibilities

The dramatic “Rope Bridge” comes with the steel supports shown, (not including the weights on the base), however, if you would prefer to consider different installation options, please contact us. For example you could suspend the “Rope Bridge” between two trees.

Each glass element has been individually blown. Each tread is approximately 50cm wide with a diameter of around 4cm. There are 49 elements in this dramatic rainbow glass rope bridge sculpture, including six clear elements. The clear elements, seen from a distance, suggest gaps in the bridge, accentuating the pitfalls in the journey.

 

Surrey Sculpture Society Exhibition

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Surrey Sculpture Society Exhibition

at Birtley House, Bramley 2017

Surreu Sculpture Society Exhibition Crowdscene by Adam Aaronson

This year, the first Surrey Sculpture Society Exhibition is taking place at Birtley House, Bramley.  Adam Aaronson is exhibiting exciting new sculpture there until June 4th 2017 as part of the Surrey Hills Sculpture Garden exhibition. Adam has been a member of the Surrey Sculpture Society since moving to West Horsley four years ago.

Surreu Sculpture Society Exhibition Crowdscene by Adam Aaronson

 

“Crowdscene” by Adam Aaronson

This artwork comprises a number of unique elements exhibited together. Adam describes his thinking behind the work as follows:

“Crowds have their own critical mass, but they are full of individuals. I often wonder whether there is much difference between the crowd of commuters at a railway station during rush hour and a crowd of refugees. Each individual has a story to tell. Invariably their stories are similar. Their ambition, whatever their background, is to establish a stable, secure future for themselves and their families. Is there really much difference between a refugee and a commuter? Could it be simply that the commuter has achieved a greater level of stability in their life?

Crowdscene by Adam Aaronson

 

“In creating ‘Crowdscene’, I have deliberately left a sense of ambiguity in the forms that I have used. Intentionally, I’ve left the viewer wondering what these elements are. They could be flowers, birds, fish, faces, caricatures, puppets or simply abstract glass shapes. The figures are not intended to be literal but are designed to resonate differently with each onlooker. They are all created as unique, stand-alone sculptures,  but you can group them together. I see them as rugged individuals, with their own personalities, but they can live together in harmony!”

Surreu Sculpture Society Exhibition Crowdscene by Adam Aaronson

 

 

We supply each sculpture with its own detachable stainless steel post. If you would prefer to position the sculpture on a wall or plinth, Adam can adapt the fitting.

You can purchase the one-of a kind sculptures in Crowdscene from the exhibition. They cost £350 each, which includes the fittings and post. The sculptures are easy to install.

Crowdscene by Adam Aaronson