Clare Gaylard Glass 

This is the piece that I am donating for the silent auction at 'Labyrinth'. We are all donating work plus group works for auction and the gallery has agreed to let all proceeds go to The Downs Syndrom Association Art Enrichment Programme. I was going to call this 'Childs Play' as that sat well with the idea of the piece and the intent of the exhibition, but the title has been used by someone else...we are on a wavelength. 'Framing Angie' is providing amazing frames as a donation and this one will have a display frame that will also permit it to be worn, either super long or looped a couple of times. It is a big, weighty piece and represents a lot of hours of work, not for the faint hearted!

 The Singapore Halloween Pumpkin compromise, a hundred times easier to carve than a pumpkin but zero longevity as the fruit flies get very excited. I'm filling in time while I wait and see what a power cut might have done to my kiln programme.

 Carving out time to paint is one thing, getting the space is something else. Having already pulled the spare bedroom for a temporary glass studio, I now have  sets of large paintings migrating round the house but  fortunately, a family old&wise enough to navigate round and move them without damaging the canvas. So far.

When we chose 'Labyrinth' as the title for our exhibition I found out the difference between a labyrinth and a maze, I had not realised that a labyrinth was one, single path.

I found a description of a labyrinth as a meditation with three stages: the journey in: the centre: the journey out. A  journey to slow down, encounter the divine and move on. We were able to go to the Down Syndrome Association and sit in on an art class last week, it happend as the third meeting in a busy day and felt closein spirit to the journey described.

Slowing down to look closely, communicate properly with the staff and meet the students brought all our plans and hopes for the upcoming exhibition and related events into focus. The students on the art enrichment programme were working on donated canvas to produce art that will be exhibited at the exhibition and students will be attending and participating.

I was particularly taken by Benjamin's work as I have been creating my own 'Hero', he is working on elaborate storyboards of his favourite TV crime programmes. Every detail of the policeman's uniform, badges and weapons rendered with passionate care. At another end of the class a boy who seemed to only have one image, a rough but fluid self-portrait that he drew at speed again and again. We found that he learned to make eye contact through the art enrichment class.

(my grandmother who always wore blue and said the rosary every day). Incomplete but already a test of my own meditative focus and calm. The shapes are complex, precise and multi-layered and reflect the unfolding, flower/petal symbolism of the rosary.

Slightly out of focus but still beautiful, hibiscus, a gift from a generous neighbour's garden. The red one is Malaysia's national flower AKA Bunga Raya. They only last a day or so, hence the fuzzy, uncorrected shot.

 I like a high level of control and autonomy with my work, so I approached the idea of a collaberative project with some caution. Four determined and fairly egocentric artists on one project without a leader should all point to trouble. In fact it's exciting, stimulating & remarkably stress free and all that is going to be reflected in the upcoming exhibition. Amazing.

Home again, definately Singapore and most unlike Framlingham's medieval skyline. It is a mind bending contrast but good to be back..... despite the eight hours of warm torrential rain that are a daily hazard right now.

'Our' castle, a 5 minute walk through the village or 10 minutes across the fields. Mary Tudor was staying here when she learned that she was to be queen. A perfect English Pastoral scene.

Art, music, marshes and water. A boat dressed like a film set and a sculpture to accomodate numerous climbing children for yearly photos. Plus holes to see the world through.

Its hard to say if it's really all this slate and silver colour or if that's just all I focus on. Muted colours, stony beaches and very cold water.

Sutton Hoo is an ancient Anglo Saxon burial ground. The mounds were excavated in the early part of the 20th C. Headline: 'Pirate Treasures Goes To A Woman' and why not.Complex craftsmanship in the ornament and armour and a fine mock helmet for the kids to handle and wear. Quotes from Beowulf & original sources, my favourite from a hard people: 'We feast on beauty as we feast on food, but for beauty this would be a woeful world.'

The Tower of London. We managed to see the crown jewels for the first time and they are breathtaking. After a lot of waiting in lines, a clever, conveyer-belt system lets you circle the crowns as often as you like. We did quite a few rotations, some of the diamonds beggar belief.

We liked this poster a lot.

 'Labyrinth' is a shared exhibition of the work of four Singapore based artists and will open at Gallery 2902 on the 12th November 2009. Myself, Donna Coughlin, Martha Chaudry and Susanne Pauli will be exhibiting work that represents our non-linear journeys in creativity.

 The exhibition recognises and supports the efforts of professional art therapists and art educators whose work provides access to non-verbal means of expression for many. We will be collaberating with the DSA (Down Syndrom Association Singapore) to raise support and awareness of their work. Word to the wise: 'Not Disabled, Differently Able' is the tag line.

Having a child with dyslexia and coming from a lifetime spent in teaching & the arts I see how much the words many of us use with ease can become a barrier to expression and acheivement for some. Art can release, empower and illuminate the labyrinthine process of thought and creativity.

Three children just brought home an avalanche of school-work at the same time as a tide of my tools, exhibition things, paintings and project work arrived. Two things I like most (not mine).

The exhibition is down, the first run of workshops is completed and the kids are off school for summer. I'm putting a couple of hothead torches in my suitcase to take on holiday and introduce to friends. If you are interested in trying an Introduction to Lampwork Workshop please let me know via our contact page. Max class size two persons.

Thank you to everyone who has expressed an interest already and we are now working on a regular, weekly schedule for introductory workshops, intermediate classes and torch time at the Glass Studio to take effect from September. Over the next couple of months the fusing department will be completed and I've already showed a class of children a kiln as big as an Emperor-size bed.

Jessie Gaylard died while I was packing my exhibition down on a breezy, sunny afternoon and handling all the heaven-and-earth inspired art. I said to Jessie that  I would make her some glass as soon as the exhibition ended but she couldn't wait. So the Pharohs were buried with their ornaments and something is on its way to WA by hand.

 A couple of exhibition stories. Songlines has been aquired by a company that specialise in unique awards and trophies, I was wanting to bring his one home so it's good to see him go somewhere interesting.

It's a metaphor for an artist's block! Every week the 'Foggers' come with roaring tools and masks to eliminate the dengue mosquitos and so rapidly the very strange (almost apocalyptic) becomes routine.

Tan Sock Fong is the glass artist who is part of the Emily Hill co-operative and is behind the Glass Studio. Here's a bit of bio from herself:

'Sock Fong graduated from the University of Wolverhampton, UK, with a Bachelor (Hons) in Art and Design, specializing in Glass Art and Printmaking. Her specialties include creating glass sculptures and designing feature walls for hotels, restaurants, offices, and homes. Some of her art pieces have been installed at Schott Glass (Singapore), Four Seasons Hotel, and The Paterson Edge condominium.

 Sock Fong has also designed numerous trophies and plaques for award ceremonies, including the ?SIA-Philips Green Innovation Awards? trophy 2008, the ?Singapore Green Plan 2012 Awards? glass plaque (commissioned by the National Environment Agency in 2004), the Brainiest Kid television programme trophy (commissioned in 2003), and the Asian Television Awards trophy. In fact, the human form sculpture that she designed for the Asian Television Awards has been used from 1996 until today.

Her glass creations have been exhibited at the National Library, the Singapore Art Museum, Art-2 Gallery, Utterly Art Gallery, the National Museum Art Gallery, Emily Hill, the IBM Art Awards Exhibition, LaSalle-SIA College of the Arts, and Midlands Art Center (Birmingham, UK). With her intimate knowledge of art glass, she has taught at LaSalle College of the Arts and Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts. In addition, she regularly conducts workshops and delivers talks.