The Northern Branch of the Guild of Glass Engravers will present a selection of their stunning work in a forthcoming display – Echoes of Light – which opens at The Bowes Museum on 30 July.
By exhibiting glass engraved using modern techniques, this foremost group of glass engravers in the North of England aims to inform, educate and raise interest in this wonderful medium.
Many exhibits will be for sale, and will comprise of different types of glass including cased coloured glass, vases, bowls, goblets, etc, covering a wide range of subject matter, using a variety of engraving methods, which includes surface, intaglio and stipple engraving.
Methods of engraving the glass include using an electrically driven hand held drill. This method has enormously expanded the possibilities of decorative engraving, allowing huge projects such as Church screens, windows, and many architectural subjects. Sand blasting and acid etching add to the possibilities.
Copper wheel engraving was the most common method in the 17th and 18th century. Using a lathe with a diamond or copper wheel, where the glass is presented to a rotating wheel, many effects can be obtained, from deep intaglio to surface engraving. This is extremely skilful and requires many years of practice.
Stipple engravers use a hand held stylus or scriber containing diamond or tungsten carbide fine point, where the design is made up from dots created by tapping the stylus on the glass. This method was widely used in early Dutch glass of the16th Century but the practice almost disappeared.
Guild members reveal that contemporary glass engraving is new to the majority of the public, but they have found that visiting such an exhibition encourages visitors to ask questions about it and to appreciate the artistic ability of the engraver.
The Northern Branch members meet quarterly at Patrick Brompton near Bedale to hold engraving sessions, weekend tutorials with invited well-known glass engravers — who possess a lot of knowledge and experience — and to discuss anything to do with glass engraving. They are delighted to welcome anyone who would like to know more about what they describe as ‘this magical form of decoration.’
The Guild of Glass Engravers is a charitable organisation with worldwide membership, whose main objective is to inform, educate and captivate the public about the art of glass engraving. To find more information about the Guild and its Branches, please visit the website at www.gge.org.uk
Related Events
Try your hand at Glass Engraving
24 September, 10.15 – 11.45, 12.00 – 1.30 and 2.00 – 3.30, £18.00 Adults, £15.00 Friends of The Bowes Museum
Join Sandra Snaddon, Fellow of the Guild of Glass Engravers for an introductory workshop. Learn how to use an electric engraving drill and how to apply a design to a glass by choosing appropriate burrs to achieve the desired effect. You will have a finished engraved glass to take away and the opportunity to visit the glass engraving display in the Ceramics Galleries. Participants must be 16+.
Try your hand at Glass Engraving
22 October, 10.15 – 11.45, 12.00 – 1.30 and 2.00 – 3.30, £18.00 Adults, £15.00 Friends of The Bowes Museum
Join Sandra Snaddon, Fellow of the Guild of Glass Engravers for an introductory workshop. Learn how to use an electric engraving drill and how to apply a design to a glass by choosing appropriate burrs to achieve the desired effect. You will have a finished engraved glass to take away and the opportunity to visit the glass engraving display in the Ceramics Galleries. Participants must be 16+.