In early June we travelled ‘en famille' to Prague, capital of the Czech Republic.  Happily we had been invited to attend the wedding of glass artist Yumi Nozaki to Ladaslav, director of the Czech centre in London.  Having known Yumi for many years while she was studying for her degree in glass at Farnham (UCCA) and beyond, we knew we were in for something special and this was going to be no ordinary wedding.  Part of the preparation was the hire of Rococo style costumes for the ceremony to be held at the Stavovsky Theatre where Mozart performed.  This promised to be a theatrical affair!

We were not disappointed.  A fair size group of the ‘congregation' were transformed into an aristocratic 18^th century audience.  There was much laughter as we donned gowns, wigs and Mozart style paraphernalia in readiness for the big event.  Once suitably attired in our apparel we paraded to the theatre nearby, much to the astonishment of locals and camera clicking tourists.  We were already part of the performance, gentlemen in brocaded long coats and frills, ladies in lace, taffeta and wigs adorned with feathers.

Seated in the Stavovsky Theatre reminiscent of the flamboyant period, the melodrama unfolded like an Operetta with wonderful melodious singers and the resonant sounds of a chamber orchestra conducted on stage.  The stars of the show were of course the bride and groom, a spectacle of Japanese poise and ceremony meets Czech coquetry and frivolity. 

Yumi looked stunning in her beautiful bridal gown and Lada the perfect gentleman in satin brocade.  The audience were touched and overjoyed to see them shining together and there was much applause..... and the Icing on the Cake?  My daughter caught the wedding bouquet!

 Synchronicity

On our flight out to Prague we bumped into renowned studio glass pioneer Peter Layton, founder of London Glassblowing Workshop. We thought he may also be destined for the wedding but he was on a short business trip. So we said goodbye at the airport and went our separate ways.

Fortunately we had an extra full day prior to the wedding to explore the handsome old city and came across a wonderful glass sculpture exhibition named Lhotsky Pelechov. In the Czech lands work with this material has produced unique and inspiring results. Glass has become a material of true sculpture with artists using its potential qualities in a pioneering way e.g. Stanislav Libensky and Javoslava Brychtova.

Zdenek Lhotsky is also an artist who has created unique glass sculpture, reliefs and objects which radiate something special. He has founded his own glass studio that is devoted to the highly demanding discipline of cast glass in Pelechov near Zelezny Brod where glass production has a long tradition. The Pelechov studio has become the focus for a large group of artists from the Czech Republic and other countries around the world.

The exhibition in Prague presented a selection of the most outstanding work from this special and highly creative collaboration. We also saw a film taken at his studio involving his production team in the casting process and were intrigued to find out more.

Co-incidentally we were lucky enough to meet Zdenek at Yumi and Lada’s evening  celebration and he invited us to visit his studio in the country north of Prague. What an unexpected treat! So a couple of days later we hired a car and drove through the Czech countryside to visit Zdenek at the Pelechov studio. He was welcoming and showed us around his workshop and we met his production team. We got to see his and other glass artist’s work in progress plus the inevitable glass graveyard, yes he too has casting failures!

We were very pleased to meet Rebeca Huerta Viga at Pelechov.  Originally trained in Ceramics, I had much admired her curvaceous glass forms at the exhibition.

Whilst talking about the coloured glass he uses he suggested that we go to Radlo about 15 kilometres away to visit Rudolf Banas who makes ‘Banas’ Casting Glass. Driving further out into the countryside we got to the tiny leafy hamlet of Radlo and found to our amazement that Rudi's workshop is part of his home. We were invited into his kitchen and talked with Rudi and his son Patrick about his beautiful coloured casting glass. Of course we couldn’t resist the opportunity to bring some samples back to try. 

Oh....and Peter Layton had beaten us to Pelechov with a glass project in mind.  Mums the word Peter!

Glasszoo were asked to make a monumental glass sail to be exhibited at the prestigious 2008 Chelsea Flower Show.

This was commissioned by Quist for the Hillier Garden, which takes centre stage in the great pavilion. The sail is a modification of the shape that I have been making and exhibiting on and off since 2003 and the design is a development from a private commission created between October 2007 and February 2008.