Using glass throughout a home

We recently completed a commission in a new build designed by James Rooney Architect.  David then designed a series of windows over the four floors of this new home inspired by nature and the arts and crafts movement.  As well as glass features in the windows, glass was also used in between floors and in the stairwell.

A different day out!

Stained Glass Painting Workshop with David Esler AMGP

Our lastest Stained glass workshop was a success! If you are looking for something different this Christmas, why not come in and speak to us for more information or view our workshop details. 

The workshops are held in our Stained Glass Department and run on the last Saturday of every month from 10am until 5pm. During the session students will paint on glass approximately 12" x 12" using traditional glass painting techniques; the piece will then be kiln fired and students will take home their finished work.

'In Living Colour' - Ayelet Lalor Exhibition

Opening Night - 22nd September at 7pm

We are delighted to be showcasing Ayelet's lastest creations in our studio this month. 

Ayelet was born in 1974, and studied at the NCAD, Dublin, graduating with a Honours degree in 1996, and a Masters in Ceramics in 2009 Ayelets' style is influenced by the streamlined graphics of Art Deco with references to classical sculpture. The exploration of the female figure is at the core of her sculpture. Working in clay, bronze and cement, she has developed her figurative sculpture,creating strong, striking forms alive with individual personality.

Ayelets' work has been commissioned both publicly and privately, and including the Percent for Art. Collections include the Office of Public Works (OPW) and Limerick City Gallery as well as numerous private
collectors.

The exhibition will be in the studio until the end of October.  Ayelet will be attending the opening night where you will be welcome to come and share some wine and conversation with us.

A ‘Beautiful Dream’ for the new MacMillan Palliative Care Unit, Antrim Area Hospital

The theme of the design is inspired by the song Midnight Dancing, written and composed by David, originally written about the surreal dream state we often find ourselves in.  This transfers itself to the same surreal feeling experienced by many when dealing with cancer.  It is a song about the journey of life; love and sharing of the ups and downs within the ‘comfort zone’ with friends or partners.  The song illustrates how through the dance of life the good times and the difficulties are always revealed on the journey. It exposes how we need companionship to help us through the hard times, ‘won’t you come with me on the journey, stay close to me for the while’ and how we ‘shed some tears and laugh a lot’ through different experiences we face. We have a need for something or someone to lift us up when we feel down, ‘…safe in my arms and deep in my heart you are carried’. 

David was also inspired by the poem ‘A Kite for Aibhin’ by Seamus Heaney.  The kite is a metaphor for life which is raised by the wind, our experiences. The string of the kite acts like a life line connecting the deepest longings of life, death and beyond. Like the kite, life seems to ‘hover, tug, veer and dive askew’; life can dip or soar in the air streams.  The poem evokes childhood memories of a kite flying in a local landscape with gentle sloping hills in a place of clear water with hedges and trees stripped of their leaves ready for spring to begin a new cycle of life.

The story in the design begins with a sleeping figure having a ‘beautiful dream’ (small section top left).  Below this in the other small section, four people have their hands like spindles spooling the strings connected to their kites.  One figure is reeling in the string of his kite which has broken free, symbolising the breaking free from cancer whether through passing away and freedom from suffering or through the hope of healing and breaking free from the disease. 

In the main section there are four kites. The top left kite is soaring strongly with the wind, while the top right kite is ‘veering askew’ on the air stream, in the bottom right the kite is dipping towards earth symbolising the times in life when we feel low.  The middle kite is detached from its string with the freedom to be swept high on the wind symbolising a message of hope.  The kites are like ‘thin stemmed flowers’ reflecting spring, summer, autumn and winter; a reference to the changing seasons in the cycle of life.

In the centre of the design an alder tree is silhouetted against the sunset. Along with the round tower (middle left) this is a reference to the local area of Antrim. Two figures are talking together in the ‘comfort zone’ under the shade and protection of two trees.  There is a sense of warmth and love surrounding them. 

Below the figures is churning waters with six spirals, the six mile river and Lough Neagh reflecting the song,

  Take hold of my hand we’re moving over those churning waters…you raise me up

The two figures are hand in hand helping each other through the journey faced which is symbolised by the churning waters.

The dancing figures in the middle left section of the design reflect the dance of life; a sense of happy times shared.  Shapes like leaves and footprints dance across the design, ‘lets go crazy together dancing with our feet against the wall’.  This is symbolising the feeling of detachment we often feel in times of hardship as we follow a path unknown, however, like the pre-planned steps of a waltz we can follow the steps produced by MacMillan to guide us through these uncertain times.

The ‘mystery moon’ in the top section of the design evokes a sense of time and the hope of a ‘new dawn’; a time when any suffering will be behind us.  The open door in the right section of the design symbolises an exit from this difficult time; an image of hope that this hardship will not be endured forever, that it is a transient time in the cycle of life.

Three vertical divisions in the design help to emphasise time and a sequence of events reading from left to right.  It illustrates how every journey has a beginning, a middle and an end as can be seen by the dancing footsteps dancing across the window and out of the open door. Just like in song when we get ‘lost in the music… moving in lyrical rhythm’ in life we get lost in the circumstance and move through it.

The scene played out is rhythmic yet at its core evokes a sense of tranquillity and calm, safety and warmth that within the ‘tossing and turning’ when life seems against us we feel a sense of hope.

The overall theme of the window centralises on calm in the midst of turmoil.  The room where the window is situated is a space for reflection and quiet, my hope is that the people viewing this window will take hold of these emotions not only through the design but through the use of colours; calming greens and blues and hope revealed through yellows and oranges.

Almac Artwork, Philadelphia

The Artwork for the new HQ in Philadelphia has now been installed.  The commission consisted of three fused glass designs each 3m wide x 1m high (part sections pictured below) and three 1m sq vinyl laminated in glass (all pictured below). 

Explanation of Design for Almac NA

The overall concept of the three designs draws together various elements

                                                                   and DNA which filter through the Almac Group and bring together three

dimensions; the Irish/European, American and global aspects of the

company.

The ground floor design begins with a suggestion of a figure representing

the founder of the company, Sir Allen McClay. With an open hand like a

farmer scattering seeds that become a strong plant which blossoms and

continues to flourish, he released his ideas and entrepreneurial DNA to form

the foundation of the company from which everything has grown becoming

his legacy. The seeds are symbols used in science; DNA and Gene

Expression. These symbols feed into the company ethos and its approach to

People, Product, Presentation and Professionalism. The Gene Expression

filters from the individual to the company.

His relaxed Ulster approach and treating everyone like family is noted in the patriarchal figure. The local poet, John Hewitt, related in his poem Ulster Names that the sense of place influences the person so symbols relating to Northern Ireland are reflected through out the ground floor design.  The names of a land show the heart of the race.  

The flax flower is a shared symbol for Northern Ireland and a reference to the Ulster attitude to work and industry. The hexagonal shapes denote the famous Giant’s Causeway rock denoting a sense of place; these shapes also connect to the Benzine Ring used in science.

The suggestion of Willow branches bending in the wind is a reference to the saying Sir Allen used when talking about the ethos of the company, 'The willow bends in the wind while the mighty oak will fall'.  Also the grinding stone, wheat and water elements are references to farming and Lough Neagh in Northern Ireland.

The wheel that grinds out the corn that provides the flour for

today and tomorrow is never turned by water that is past

This is seen in the ground floor design with the suggestion of a wheel

surrounded by water.  The red cusp reflects the Almac logo which is synonymous with the group.

The main focal point in the first floor design, which focuses on American

heritage, is the Mountain Laurel which is the state flower of Pennsylvania.

The DNA continues to build through the design as in the first one along with

the scientific symbols. Individual to this design is the farmer and plough

which connects into the ceremony and the cutting of the first sod on the new

Almac site; there is also a symbolic tree which was planted on the same day.

The farmer and the homestead are reference to the generations of

Americans who farmed on the land and the beginning of the legacy that the

land will be used for medicines to help future generations.

Sir Allen once quoted the proverb, the old ox ploughs a straight furrow; it denotes his

visionary thinking that to grow a business one must stay focused on the strategic direction of the business and never steer from it.  The green cusp shape becomes the horizon of the American Landscape.

The second floor design represents the worldwide aspect of the company and its growth; the spiralling sphere represents the dynamic energy of the company on a global scale. In this design there is a ship as a reference to a quote Sir Allen once used, 'to build big ships you must sail in deep waters', in other words to grow a business you need to take bigger risks.

Sir Allen talked about the analogy of sustenance and maintenance; forming the link between farming and health. The wheat is representative of this; the need to supply food to sustain people and the need to maintain the health of nations which the Almac group provides globally through pharmaceutical products (top right). The pharmaceutical symbol is also included in the design while the symbolic scientific references placed throughout the design represent people, process and product within Almac.

The blue cusp shape emphasises the global aspect of Almac.

There is a feeling upward movement to the overall design concept denoting the growth of the company as it has become larger and more influential to scientific progress in the 21st                                            Century. The designs are pulled together not only by the scientific references but by the plough, wheat and ship which areall present in the Pennsylvanian State Crest.