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Anne Collins -
Contemporary Glass Artist
Originally from
Guilsfield, Nr Welshpool, Anne moved from London and back to
Montgomeryshire in 1997. Whilst in London Anne worked
for a number of years in marketing and public relations.
She was member of the Chartered
Institute of Management, the Chartered Institute of Marketing, the Chartered
Institute of Public Relations and the Institute of Business
Advisors.
With a B.A. and a
Diploma in Education Anne also taught business studies
and human resource management for various colleges within the London
area.
Anne returned to Wales
to take up the position as business advisor for the then Development Board for Rural Wales,
where she worked for 18 months. Anne left the DBRW to
work for the Andrew Logan Museum of
Sculpture in Berriew, Nr Welshpool as Director of the museum.
Whilst there, she built visitor numbers
up from 500 to 5,000 per annum and introduced an education programme.
In 2003 Anne visited a Glass Exhibition at the NEC, Birmingham. It was there that she saw, and
bought, her first piece of fused glass art - a large dish. She
loved it so much, she decided to learn how it was created.
After attending her first glass fusing course at the Rainbow Glass Studio in
Stoke Newington, London Anne was hooked and fell in love with the process
of kiln-fired glass.
Anne's position of
director at the museum was funded by the Arts Council of Wales. After five
years, the ACW ceased all funding and sadly she had to leave. During that period, she had
continued to attend monthly courses at Rainbow Glass, eventually providing her own glass and
hiring the studio facilities, and perfecting her fused glass
skills as a hobbyist.
Rather
than look for alternative employment, Anne decided to continue learning more about the art of glass fusing and
casting. Attending
courses at Creative Glass in Kent, she developed her skills as a
glass artist. Initially, working from a shed in her garden, Anne
created fused glass jewellery, selling it at local shows and
galleries.
It was
always Anne's dream to have a proper studio/workshop and
produce functional, fused and cast glass art for the home,
garden and business. Finally, in October 2006, her dream was
realized when she re-mortgaged her home in Wales, cashed in her
pension, and invested everything she had in
a 500 sq.ft. workshop in Llanerfyl, some 10 miles from her
home.
As well as creating fused and cast glass art including;
wall tiles - borders and inserts, splash-backs, sinks,
bowls, dishes, door inserts for kitchens, bathrooms and
external doors, garden sculptures and jewellery, Anne also runs
glass fusing courses. Three of her former students
have now opened up their own glass studios.
Along with her husband Peter, Anne spends a lot of time in Estepona, on the Costa del Sol in Andalusia, Spain. Anne
loves colour, and finds the intensity of the colours in
Spain inspirational. From the dazzling green of the
sea, to the luminous blue of the sky, and the amazing
vividness of flowers of every hue tumbling up and over
whitewashed and terracotta walls.
"Finally, says Anne, in the autumn of her life she has found
her artistic creative side and is working at something she
really loves, rather than working because she has to".
Anne's kiln-fired fused glass art
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Montgomeryshire
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Apartment to rent in Estepona
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