A Heart of Glass Artist Information

BOB CROOKS

Bob Crooks is one of Britain’s most highly recognised glassmakers. Renowned for the high quality, skilfully executed dynamic forms, he has been producing glass for the past 19 years. His work has been exhibited at International level and in noted exhibitions in Italy, China, Scandinavia, Australia and the USA, alongside many exhibitions at home in the UK.

Each piece is designed, handmade and finished by Bob Crooks himself.

His pieces are inspired by geometry, architecture, the natural and man-made worlds we live in as well as the qualities and capabilities of the glass itself. Bob exploits the many properties of the material through refraction or reflection; sharpness or softness, transparency or opacity, working with its fluidity and ‘freezing’ it as the desired form is realised.

Bob Crooks established ‘First Glass’ alongside Peter Layton in 1990 and now works out of his own studio in Devon.

WILL SHAKSPEARE

Will produces a wide range of hand made studio glass using tools and techniques that have barely changed for a thousand years. All his designs have a spontaneous element to them which beautifully emphasises the hand made nature and quality they display. He designs the work himself, taking on many different influences. His product ranges continually evolve and by the very nature of the work, each piece is completely unique.

Will’s glass was recently featured on Channel 4’s ‘Kirsties Homemade Home’ programme and he can be visited at his glassworks in Taunton, Somerset.

PETER LAYTON

Born in Prague and brought up in England, Peter Layton originally trained in ceramics at the Central School of Art and Design in London but, the discovery of hot glass was the beginning of a new love affair.

He was inspired by the immediacy of this enchanting and elusive medium, as much by the demanding process and the magical and exqusite material. Self taught as a glassmaker, Peter Layton's work is organic and tactile, striving to achieve a form of controlled assymetry. Series evolve by 'sketching on the blowing iron', in the belief that an understanding of the work is best achieved through making.

Peter Layton's London Gassblowing is a hot glass studio focused on the creation and display of the contemporary glass art. The studio has a reputation as one of Europe's leading glassmaking workshops with a particular flair for the use of colour, form and texture. Layton produces individual pieces of decorative glass in sculptural and functional forms. The work is free blown, permitting a greater degree of involvement and attention to detail than is possible on standardised production and ensuring the individuality of the piece. It is the studio's philosophy that each piece should be unique and signed by the artist.

ALLISTER MALCOLM

Allister Malcolm graduated from the University of Wolverhampton in 1997 with a BA Honors in Three Dimensional Design, specializing in glass sculpture. The occupancy of the studio scholarship at Broadfield House Glass Museum enabled a continual launch of the artist's profile.

With attention to detail, Allister Malcolm produces dynamic, sculptural forms with a functional twist. Drawing inspiration from the natural world, particularly marine life, he constantly amazes and intrigues. Allisters use of colour entices the viewer and his use of Platinum, Gold and Silver to accent his work add a unique sparkle to bring the piece to life.
Allister’s first commission was by Tony Blair. He was asked to produce presentation pieces for the heads of state and world leaders attending the Asia & European Summit. He also annually produces commissioned pieces for the Open Mic Awards for the Edinburgh Festival sponsored by the Daily Telegraph.
Allister Malcolm's art is available at select galleries worldwide and

A Heart of Glass are proud to showcase his work.

PAVEL HAVELKA

Pavel Havelka was born in Czechoslovakia in 1969. Like many of the Czech artists whose work we feature, he studied glass at the School of Applied Arts in Zelezny Brod. Havelka began his career at the Beranek glassworks in Skrdlovice where he worked for seven years as a glassmaker producing pieces to others original designs. In 1994 he moved to the Svoboda glassworks where he became their resident glass artist experimenting with various techniques ti create his own designs. Havelka is now the head glass master at Glass Art Princ and his work is being exhibited across the Czech Republic and America.

JAN EXNAR

Czech born glass artist Jan Exnar attended the School of Applied Arts and later the Academy of Applied Arts in Prague. He continued his studies for a further six years at the studios of Stanislav Libensky, himself a highly skilled glass technician and recognised glass artist.

Exnar's inspired designs have won him numerous awards for artistic and design excellence and his works have been exhibited at major exhibitions worldwide.

FAY MILLER

American artist Fay Miller began her career as a graphic designer but soon turned her attentions to glass and her need to express her creativity through three-dimensional objects.

Her Art Glass creations tend to be architectural in design, concentrating more on shape and form than functionality. She delights in the ever changing properties and random beauty of glass.

Her works have featured in galleries across the U.S and Canada and are exclusive to

A Heart of Glass in the UK.

JONATHAN SHAW

Better known for his contemporary landscape paintings depicting sky scenes, Jonathan Shaw has a very free approach to his art and gains much of his inspiration from his love of travel and the sea. He is skilled in all mediums, more recently trying his hand at glass blowing where he has produced a series of Limited Edition shapes to compliment his paintings.

In 1999, Shaw was elected a fellow of the British society of painters and international guild of artists. A fantastic achievement for a self-taught artist.

Shaw's work is increasingly sought after and can be found in many galleries and art exhibitions across the country.

LADISLAV OLIVA (Jnr)

Born in 1964 in Česká Lípa, Czech Republic, Ladislav Oliva followed in his fathers footsteps into the glassmaking world.

He attended the School of Applied Arts then the University of Applied Arts before securing his first employment as a designer at the Crystalex glassworks in Harrachoy.

In 1991 Ladislav built his own glass furnace with his brother Tomas where they produced sculptural pieces, experimenting with spiral forms. He now lives and works in the Zelezny Brod region of Czech Republic.

Quote: “We live and create thanks to nature. It is important to respect it and glass is nature’s beautiful product. It can torment a man but also reward him terrifically”

FRANTISEK VIZNER

Born in Prague in 1936, Vizner studied at the Academy of Applied Arts. His skills in Glassmaking and Design were much sought after & Vizner worked for various glassworks as their resident designer where he developed his own unique style.

In 1977, Vizner left the glassworks to concentrate his efforts on his own designs, exploring his fascination for texture, form and colour.

Vizner’s work is well documented and he is seen as one of Bohemia’s leading glass masters. Vizner's designs are still made today and his techniques and skills have been passed on to the next generation of glass artists.

STANISLAV LIBENSKY

Stanislav Libensky was one of the most influential Czech glass artists of the 20th century. He produced some of the worlds greatest cast glass and architectural glass works of art.

Libensky began his career in glass at the age of 16 when he studied glass making at the Novy Bor and Zelezny Brod specialist schools of glassmaking in the 1930's.

During the war years he studied in Prague under professor Jaroslav Holecek, later returning to his school at Novy Bor as a teacher. During this period he also worked as a designer for the glassworks. In 1954 he became a director of the school and it was within this post that he met his wife Jaroslava Brychtova and they began their dramatically creative work together.

In 1984, Libensky and his wife set up their own glassworks at Zelezny Brod, undertaking architectural commissions from around the world.

ALES VALNER

Ales Valner was born in 1962 in Brno, Czech Republic. Having designed for a number of glassworks, he now has his own company within the Czech and Moravian Highlands. He works with 4 other artists producing colourful, free blown pieces that are highly decorative and usually sculptural in form. The limited production capacity means many of the pieces are unique, usually made for exhibitions across Germany & America or privately commissioned.

A Heart of Glass commissioned the popular ‘Completeness’ sculpture.

KJELL ENGMAN

Originally a painter, Kjell Engman joined the Boda glassworks in Sweden in 1978. For him the fantasy world of childhood lives on in his glass creations, bringing dreams to life through this diverse medium. His background in art is clearly reflected in his glass which is often engraved or etched. It was while he was struggling at art school that the wealth of talents posessed by this determined young artist were first discovered by Kosta Boda.

All Kjell Engmans pieces share one thing in common- Distinctive personality in which fantasy and form come together in glass.

MATS JONASSON

Mats Jonasson left school at the tender age of 14 and began his career as an apprentice engraver at the Maleras glassworks in Sweden. Throughout his early career he worked with many of Sweden's leading and most talented contemporary glass artists, learning his craft and developing his confidence, abilities and ideas. He left briefly to work as an apprentice at Kosta but returned to his roots in 1975.

Jonassons's pieces are inspired by the natural world. His works commonly feature intricate etchings of animals in lead crystal. His more recent works have experimented with colour, used to define the captivating features of his 'Masq' series of sculptures.

GEORGE PONZINI

George Ponzini was born in New York in 1952. He was first introduced to glass while studying at the Franklin Pierce College, thereafter concentrating on glass and furniture at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond. He has studied glass at Pilchuck Glass School and has been honoured as a Fellowship Recipient from the Vermont Council of the Arts and the Grodin Award for Excellence in Design and Craftsmanship.

Ponzini creates glass objects and sculptures that are engaging and elegant. His designs are architecturally influenced, capturing the feeling of art deco with stunning composites of blown and constructed glass elements. .A piece is typically designed hands-on, using an inventory of glass parts instead of drawings. These parts consist of glass rods & tubes, textured glass, structural glass, wire safety glass, marbles and beads. The glass is either cut on a saw or with a carbide tip glass cutter. Then the parts are ground on a diamond impregnated grinding wheel or on discs of varying grit. The etched patterns are sandblasted. The parts are then glued with a silicone adhesive thus completing the piece. Ponzini has been working in his current style since the mid 1980's.

His glass career has spanned 3 decades.We are very proud to say that

A Heart of Glass are sole UK stockists!

PAUL HARRIE

American glass artist Paul Harrie was born and brough up in North Dakota. The snow covered surroundings of his home give him inspiration to create classic, clean pieces. He uses a number of techniques- Coloured glass canes to produce precise striping, Coloured powders to create layers and solid colour to create colour fields. These techniques are then finished off with precise cutting and polishing to create abstract patterns.

Paul Harrie established his own private glassworks in 1980 and works alone to personally produce these fantastic colourful pieces.

Although Paul's work features in galleries across America, his work is exclusive to

A Heart of Glass in the UK.

ROBERT LJUBEZ

After escaping the horrors of war in Bosnia , Robert Ljubez ended up in Sweden at the end of 1992. Experiences from engraving and drawing in combination with an artistic talent led to a job at the Maleras Glassworks in 1996. At first, Robert Ljubez worked as an engraver, but he soon became Mats Jonasson's right hand man. Robert's time at Mats Jonasson Maleras has provided him with invaluable knowledge of the unexpected possibilities there are in working with crystal. A successful combination of curiosity and a great respect for the craftsmanship at Maleras has inspired him to create his own objects in crystal.

Pavel Hlava was born in June 1924 in Semily, northern Bohemia. He was trained at the nearby State Professional Glassmaking School in Zelezny Brod, and in 1948 graduated from the Academy of Applied Arts in Prague. Throughout his career, Hlava exhibited mainly in the United States and Japan. Some of his fantastic designs are well documented and are reproduced today in the Beranek glassworks, Czech Republic. Hlava's works can be found in more than 20 modern art museums throughout the world. In 1983,he created a glittering glass decoration of icicles hanging from the ceiling of the famous Laterna Magica Theater in Prague. A prize named after him is regularly awarded at international glass exhibitions in Kanazawa, Japan.