Intro Bar Exhibitions
Stonegate Glass Studio and Gallery
Sudden Exhibition
Sat 13 April - Sunday 2 June
Nestled on the borders of Lancashire, North Yorkshire and Cumbria, halfway between Lancaster and Kendal and only 10 minutes drive from the popular tourist town of Kirkby Lonsdale, lies Stonegate Glass Studio and Gallery. The Gallery is set in an 18th century barn in the heart of the quiet village of Low Bentham, popular with walkers for beautiful views and tranquil riverside walks. Alongside the gallery is the studio where Gary and Annette McMillan design and make beautiful and unique works of art in glass, from small commissions to large installations. Annette and Gary McMillan met in 1990 at the University of Wolverhampton studying for a BA (Hons) in Glass Design.
Initially Gary worked as a glass blower in Ambleside in the Lake District and Annette worked as a metal worker doing forging and sculptural work as well as stained glass. In 2001 they started their own business designing and making contemporary stained glass windows and fused glass artworks for offices, restaurants and public and private collections. They opened Stonegate Glass Studio in 2007 and in 2009 they opened the gallery adjacent to their workshop. The studio and gallery are set in an 18th century barn in the heart of the quiet village of Low Bentham, popular with walkers for its beautiful views and tranquil riverside walks. The Gallery is not only a showcase for their own glass artworks but is a great place to find contemporary designer crafts, fine art and jewellery from the best of British designers and craftspeople.
Previous clients have included, Thurland castle, Brabners Solicitors, Nokia, Lakeland, Heathcotes Restaurants, St. Michael's Church, Washington, Aquarium of the lakes, Grant Thornton Accountants, The Green Awards and Liverpool Hope University as well as other numerous private, corporate and public commissions.
Stonegate Glass Studio and Gallery
Main Street
Low Bentham
Lancashire
LA2 7BX
Tel: 015242 62266
Please click here to visit the Stonegate Gallery website
Bee Creative Exhibition
Wednesday 27th March - Tuesday 30th April
An exciting exhibition of work created by Year 10 students from Kirkbie Kendal school and Sixth form students at The Queen Katherine School in partnership with the Brewery Arts Centre
Bee Creative 3 aims to raise awareness in teenagers of the growing crisis faced by the decline in bee numbers using photo-silk screen techniques.
Drawing a comparison between Colony collapse and the environmental issues affecting the decline of the complex society of bees, the young people taking part were encouraged to explore images around these ideas.
Working with local artist Melanie Mayho, students were invited to explore a wide variety of images of bees including electron microscope images of ‘armoured’ body parts. They developed their designs to reflect their interests, which predominantly focused on bees and other insects
This exhibition will be displayed on our Intro Bar cafe.
Sponsored by
Heather Gillespie
Glass Designer & Maker
Thursday 4th April - Sunday 2nd June
After graduating from Edinburgh College of Art in 2006 Heather was fortunate enough to be asked to live and work for a year in the remote village of Kamenicky Senov in the Czech Republic. Mr. Peter Rath, part owner of the prestigious glass company of Lobmeyr in Vienna nurtured my skills and potential in glass and acted as my mentor for a year. Heather learnt a lot from him and can’t thank him enough for the time he gave to her. In the Czech republic Heather spent my time studying glass techniques, refining her skills and perfecting the craft of copper wheel engraving, which she adores.
Copper wheel engraving is a satisfying and rewarding process but there are only a handful of engravers in the U.K. who are practicing this craft, producing exquisite work. Copper wheel engraving is a 16th century technique, which Heather likes to bring into the 21st century with her contemporary approach.
In 2008 Heather was selected for the Next Move scheme, which was run by the Crafts Council UK. Here she was placed at a University where she became artist in residence, and began to develop her work and build her career as a glass designer and maker.
Heather has worked with Calvin Klein Home, Liberty London, Selfridges, Nokia and is represented by Vessel Gallery in the UK.
Since returning to Cumbria Heather has grown even fonder of the unique beauty of this part of the world. The mountains, valleys and lakes are truly spectacular; this scenery has recently become the inspiration for her new collection of glass.
Please click here to visit Heather's website
Heather's work will be displayed in the glass cabinets near box office.