The club has been very privileged to receive a very kind and generous glass sculpture donated by Norman Veitch (Senior), well renowned artist as described in Channel 4 report. Many other articles online if you wish to research.
George Constable – glass sculptor
History of Glass
Glass has existed in nature since time began but it is from approximately 4500BC that we can date the first examples of manmade glass. Transparent glass beads have been discovered in Egypt dating from around 3500BC. The first glassblowing techniques were being developed in 1AD. It was the Romans who first experimented with flat glass in buildings, later to become what we know as windows. As time went on, the Venetians and then the French became the leaders in developing glass manufacture, although the introduction of lenses and microscopes in about 1590 is attributed to the Dutch. The ingredients used in making glass today are not so different from those discovered by our ancestors, namely sand, soda ash, potash, zinc and bone ash. Additional ingredients are added to create colour. Further details can be found on the websites listed in the links section.
Throughout history, glass has been used both as a functional material and for creating artifacts of great beauty such as stained glass windows, sculptures and objets d’art.
George Constable and Norman Veitch belong to a tradition of craftsmen/artists who have chosen glass as their preferred medium for creating lasting artifacts for others to appreciate and enjoy.
