IESTYN DAVIES, BLOWZONE

Shoal 1, 2008.
Hot sculpted glass with precious metal inclusions on hand textured stainless steel
140cm x 60cm

My personal experience with glass has led me down a sculptural path, an experience shaped by a mixed set of criteria. Throughout my career I have moved from an emphasis on giftware and gallery orientated work, through one-off designs and limited editions and onto my current client base which is high end specifiers, interior designers and property developers.

Mastering hot glass techniques and the desire to be innovative in my design work has shaped my specialism which is sculpting the glass whilst hot. My fishes are an example of the natural movement of hot glass in the hand; their curves are produced by heat under the effects of gravity. Exploring these techniques initially produced simple naturalistic animal forms that eventually led onto complex forms such as the human figure.

New input and emerging interest in new materials led me into creating larger ‘canvasses’ in which glass became a primary component, an element to be used for the material properties rather than for its own sake. Where I used to incorporate mica or gold and silver leaf into the glass, I now regularly incorporate glass into a larger composition of stone, metal or acrylics.

A technical interest in the emergent LED technologies has since pushed me still further away from my original path and now nearly all my glass work not only incorporates this new light source but is actively designed around it.

Refractive and reflective properties of glass are used with LEDs and fibre optics and in combination with an interactive element so that an installation can respond to sound, touch or movement.

Biography pdf

Iestyn Davies filler

Selected Biography

EMPLOYMENT & EDUCATION
2001 - present: Created an alternative career path, utilizing metal, acrylic and stone in combination with sculptural hot glass and state of the art LED lighting and associated technologies.
1987 - present: Established ‘Blowzone’ Glass Workshop
Wolverhampton University Lecturer specialising in ‘Hot Glass’.
Stuart Crystal Resident Coloured Glass Development Artist.
Isle of Wight Glass Designer.
The Royal College of Art, London.
Stourbridge College of Art (Wolverhampton University).

COMMISSIONS / AWARDS
2006 - 2008: Lighting designer, product developer and consultant for Litefuzion LTD and Andy Thornton LTD.
2005: Sculptural water feature in ‘Discovery’ garden, Chelsea Flower Show. Commissioned by Cancer Research UK via ‘Thompson Landscapes‘
2005: ‘Synergy’. 10 metre high exterior installation, incorporating over 800 sculptural blown and formed glass components, within an air-conditioned glass, steel and acrylic pyramidal structure with full colour changing LED lighting. Commissioned by Westfield PLC.
2005: Merlin Park 11.65m high sculpture commissioned by Moya Bucknall.

EXHIBITIONS
Worldwide including Australia, Germany, France, Belgium, Japan and USA. Several prestigious private collections including HRH The Prince of Wales.