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Our New Newsletter - March 2017

Posted on March 13, 2017 by Nigel Hayes | 1 comment

 Our newsletter - March 2017.

 
Vancouver Island, like much of B.C., has seen some unusually cold and snowy weather this winter. Nothing as compared to our Mid West but for us less hardy folk on the West Coast this has been a cold winter.
 
Just before the first of the big winter storms hit with its full force, Sue & I together with Finn, our mischievous Kerry BlueTerrier, made a trip up island to replenish some much-needed work from our artists.
 
First stop was to Bob Held’s glass studio in Parksville.  The warmth of the glass kilns was welcome as the snow was already quite deep. The day previously the delivery of raw glass had to be cancelled as the truck could not get near Bob’s studio. However, we collected some beautiful new work examples of which you can see below.
 
The new Mocha Swirl Cone vase is superb as are the new glass Hearts
Next, we moved onto Charles Van Sandwick’s studio in Qualicum Beach. Charles being sensible was away enjoying the sunshine of Fiji but his partner was there with our order ready and waiting. For the first time on the trip, we needed to use 4 Wheel drive in our 4-Runner as the ice and snow were so deep. A first for Qualicum Beach?
 
The visit was well worth the effort as we managed to collect some new prints by Charles as well as lots more greetings cards and copies of his magnificent books. The Print of the Grizzly Bear from Charles’ Canadian Content Book - is particularly noteworthy.
Then it was on to Whiskey Creek (what a great name) to visit Darrel Hancock’s studio. A mug of tea was greatly welcome as was the warmth of the kiln. Darrel had a large amount of work ready and packed for us to replace that from sales at Christmas. New teapots, mugs by the case load, terracotta butter dishes and bowls and more.
It was with reluctance we left the warmth of Darrel’s studio and moved onto our final visit. This was back into Parksville to collect new work from Sharon Beatch of Beach Pebble Studios. Sharon’s Shadow Boxes have been a great asset to our studio with creations for all occasions. It is always a pleasure to see what new ideas she comes up with. Two of her new creations were particularly interesting:

At this point, we needed to move quite quickly as a storm cloud, as dark as night, was rapidly approaching with a new and even heavier fall of snow. 
 
We made it back just ahead of the storm….something out of a Hollywood movie (“Twister” comes to mind!). Fortunately, we had pre-paid tickets for the Mill Bay Ferry and so just escaped the dubious journey over the Malahat.

We hope that you enjoy the images of some of our artist’s new work and as a thank you please find below a small sample of our appreciation. A 10% discount off any item from our studio. Valid until 31st March 2017. Online sales only.

10% DISCOUNT WHEN YOU USE CODE BN2D2TOOVIYU AT CHECKOUT

 

VALID UNTIL 5 PM (PST)
31st MARCH 2017
One order per customer. One use only.

START SHOPPING
Warm regards, 
Nigel, Sue & Finn
PS: Did you know that you can Buy on Line and Pick Up in the Studio. Excellent for saving on shipping and a good way buy for friends and relatives who live near the studio.

 

Posted in art, charles van sandwyk, darrel hancock, gifts, glass art, mugs, new home, paperweights, pottery, robert held, shoplocal, vancouver island, vases, victoria b c, wedding

ROBERT HELD – RISEN FROM THE ASHES!

Posted on July 29, 2015 by Sue Hayes | 0 comments

In March 2013 and after 39 years, Robert Held sold off all his glass making equipment and finally closed the doors of his Vancouver-based, Pine Street Studio.

robert held glass art

PARKSVILLE STUDIO

Bob moved to Parksville on Vancouver Island and entered into retirement. So that was it. The end of some of the finest glass making in North America.

robert held glass art

ROBERT HELD & SUE HAYES

But the days of tennis, reading and painting (the artistic type) began to drag. Frustration grew. Dreams of a relaxing retirement became just that – dreams. The urge to create more pieces of glass art grew until Bob could resist the call no longer.



 

As with all ventures, a little luck helps. Bob discovered that an art school in southern Seattle had just received a large endowment and was upgrading their glass-making equipment. So armed with cash and a large van he was first on the scene and bought their whole collection of equipment – furnaces included.

 


 

 

After numerous trips from Seattle back & forth to Vancouver Island we now we have a new art studio, based in Parksville – risen from the ashes so to speak.

robert held glass art

 

Bob together with two of his former artists have started creating even more beautiful glass art. Hearts, Paperweights, Bowls, Vases and Ginger Pots are all now ready (in limited quantities) for sale as the new gallery expands its production.

robert held glass art

 

The main picture shows Bob & one of his key assistants, Bohy, outside of the new studio. No Bohy is not bowing to Bob! He is drawing out very long, thin lines of hot glass (up to 70 ft) which quickly cool and are then fused to the sides of bowls, vases etc. Each using different colours depending on the specific design. A process that Bob called ‘fritting’.


 

The other photos show Sue Hayes from Side Street Studio looking at some new ‘lighting’ glass work with Bob. And some scenes of the work area.

robert held glass art

 

You can find a good number of examples of Bob’s new glass work at www.sidestreetstudio.com with more pieces arriving as soon as they are available.

poppy vase 

 

A World Made By Hand

robert held glass art

 

http://www.sidestreetstudio.com/collections/glass/robert-held-glass-artist

Posted in glass art, glass bowls, glass hearts, paperweights, robert held, tea lights, vases