Clare Gaylard Artisan Glass 

Just had a great couple of days catching up and swapping tips with old friend Claire Underwood in her London workshop. We did our art foundations and BA Hons (Jewellery and Silversmithing circa 1989) together and even lived (at different times) on neighbouring streets in Bangkok. Our incredibly different styles and approaches keep things lively. Claire's work (shown here) is colour-rich, detail-oriented and currently very ki...

In natural light, a night sky on your finger.

Well it's looking like Spring - but in England that doesn't mean anything. This weekend find some of my glass alongside the work of other Suffolk artists at Great Glemham Village Hall, IP17 2DH Saturday 23rd and Sunday 24th Feb from 11am-5pm.

This is not the mist of early dawn, it's tear gas. We took child #3 to Paris to do a weekend's drawing at galleries and museums and ended up both staying and being in the epicentre of the current protests. We retreated from riot police on this bridge and got a dose of tear gas while passing underneath. We moved around barricades, protests and metro closures all weekend. Child #3 said it was the best holiday ever.

I got out some (usually avoided) pink glass to make something for Valentines day - as I have recently had scant time at the torch and it seemed a good excuse. What rose to the surface was a set of three rings - Octopus, Tentacle and Eye, if that's not romantic I don't know what is.

In a grain of sand and heaven in a wildflower. Thank you William Blake.

....made cunningly. Of elements....' John Donne Holy Sonnets

I get told off for not wearing my own stuff - so with a bit of time but not enough for immersive work, I decided to make myself some things. Warm amber glass with hints of gold leaf. The last couple of storage heaters in our house go off/out today - then tomorrow afternoon we find out if the new  central heating operates in an ancient house.

Probably looking exactly as it has done from medeival times. I tried to get the castle in but decided not to gild the lilly. It's been a chilly week to gradually lose all heat in the house.

'First Frost Glass' - ice outside and indoors it's pretty cold too, we are in a ten day process of having our ancient heating system replaced. My torch will be one of the few warm places when I can get to it. These are calmer than I am.

Doing a lot of breaking ice on puddles 'for the birds'.

It's only January but we are already hatching plans for the summer, I will be exhibiting at The Quay Gallery at Snape Maltings with two other talented artist/makers, Clive Barnett and Madeline Nightingale. We got together to take a look at some work in progress. For the highly organised, the diary dates are 25th-31st July and our exhibi...

It has gone suddenly cold.

Christmas Day in Framlingham and New Years Day on the coast at Shingle Street - subtle Suffolk.

Thanks to everyone who came by today - my workbench looks this pristine twice a year. A lovely cold, sunny day but warm at the torch. I managed to disemburse myself of new work before I had the chance to photograph it - which is an interesting problem to have, so here is the view from my studio.

This Saturday afternoon I will be at my studio in Earl Soham from 12 noon to 5pm - visitors welcome. For those further afield you can find my work in Essex at The Sentinel Gallery and in Norfolk at Great Walsingham Gallery.

A box of treasures for the Sentinel Gallery in Wivenhoe, exhibition now open.