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Glass Discussion & Research. NO IDENTIFICATION REQUESTS here please. => British & Irish Glass => Topic started by: catshome on June 21, 2019, 06:27:53 PM

Title: Cracked earth effect bowl with hard to read signature - ID = Will Shakspeare
Post by: catshome on June 21, 2019, 06:27:53 PM
I feel the need to atone for the dull dessert dish, so I thought I would share one of my current absolute favourite pieces.  It is very hard to capture in a photo as it changes all the time.  It's sitting here next to me on the settee in all its gorgeousness, and I tried to capture how it looks in one of the pictures below.

20.5cm diameter x 4.5cm high.  Very heavy.....thick at the centre and decreasing out to the rim.  Very shallow bowl so pretty useless for anything other than looking at it!

All the "cracks" are clear glass.  Each "mosaic" has a blue backing.  Everything changes when held up to daylight.  I will post a lot of pictures of this one, to try and give you some idea of what I see.

I thought the signature was "Shots" or "Shats", and I expect you can imagine what google made of those options.  I am now thinking it's something like "Shoks" or "Shakes".  Have powdered its bottom, but it didn't make much difference.


I really want to know how it has been made.  I thought maybe fused glass of some sort - it looks like the edge of torn paper around the mosaics....especially from the back under magnification.  It is very hard to stop looking at it!
Title: Re: Cracked earth effect bowl with hard to read signature
Post by: catshome on June 21, 2019, 06:32:35 PM
More shots - 2nd and 3rd shots are the back and front against the daylight
Title: Re: Cracked earth effect bowl with hard to read signature
Post by: catshome on June 21, 2019, 06:38:21 PM
Signature below - the bottom one is just taken on the settee.....kind of how it looks to me on a day-to-day basis
Title: Re: Cracked earth effect bowl with hard to read signature
Post by: Greg. on June 21, 2019, 06:54:39 PM
It reads 'Shaks' which is how Will Shakspeare signs his work. Lovely piece.  :)
Title: Re: Cracked earth effect bowl with hard to read signature
Post by: catshome on June 21, 2019, 07:22:13 PM
Greg.....I honestly thought you were having a laugh......"it's how Will Shakespeare signs his work" ....... 😹

But I see you've already nailed it......I've had a quick look at his website and haven't yet found anything like it.  I wonder if he would mind if I contacted him to ask how it was made?
Title: Re: Cracked earth effect bowl with hard to read signature
Post by: Greg. on June 21, 2019, 07:33:15 PM
 :)
I'm sure he will be happy to help, it's an interesting piece.

I had a quick look through his website too and couldn't see it.

Just to add the playwright has an extra 'e' in his name ;)
Title: Re: Cracked earth effect bowl with hard to read signature
Post by: catshome on June 21, 2019, 07:35:47 PM
Have had a proper look now and he has some beautiful pieces.  I usually find that when I have a piece identified, and then start looking at their other work, I realise I have a very low level example.  This time was definitely different.......I wouldn't swap mine for any of the others......but I would happily add some of them to mine!

Title: Re: Cracked earth effect bowl with hard to read signature
Post by: Greg. on June 21, 2019, 07:39:44 PM
Sounds like it found the right home :)
Title: Re: Cracked earth effect bowl with hard to read signature
Post by: chopin-liszt on June 21, 2019, 07:41:23 PM
I'm very shocked and surprised too.
I immediately thought it was Dartington Studio.  ::) ;D
But the "Shaks" has got a lot bigger, clearer and more readable than I am used to!
I'm used to peering and searching for a tiny scratch that looks made with a pin. ;D
Title: Re: Cracked earth effect bowl with hard to read signature - ID = Will Shakspeare
Post by: catshome on June 21, 2019, 08:28:38 PM
That's macro photography.....it's really only a couple of mm high.  It looks like one of those signatures you'd know if you'd seen it before.  So funny that two of us were posting his work at the same time!
Title: Re: Cracked earth effect bowl with hard to read signature - ID = Will Shakspeare
Post by: flying free on June 21, 2019, 09:21:43 PM
He makes  fab glass and is lovely to boot :)
I did a glass blowing session with him (made a bowl and what turned out to be a glass for my pimms). 
I have some lovely pieces of his glass but the most beautiful  in my eye are the 'opals'.  They are really stunning.  I couldn't afford one when I went though.
In fact one of my most precious pieces is a bowl by him given to me by a friend.  It is not a range, just appears to be a one off but it's dichroic glass and truly exquisite.
m
Title: Re: Cracked earth effect bowl with hard to read signature - ID = Will Shakspeare
Post by: catshome on June 21, 2019, 09:37:27 PM
M thank you for all that information.  It sounds a though he is someone who won't mind me asking.  When you mention opals......that's very much the effect on this piece......the reason it looks different all the time.  Could this be one of those opal pieces?  Do you know how they are made?
Title: Re: Cracked earth effect bowl with hard to read signature - ID = Will Shakspeare
Post by: flying free on June 21, 2019, 09:47:34 PM
they were all stripes I think.

Oh these are some of them: 

https://shakspeareglass.co.uk/collections/opal-range

The one I saw was also a jug but possibly bigger, and in real life they are just gorgeous to look at. As though they've been created from velvet or something.  Really beautiful pieces of art.  I couldn't find any more on the site unfortunately.

So I don't think yours is an opal.  But I know what you mean about it changing in different lights.  My blue bowl turns red when held up to the light.  It has a deep brown interior and the bowl is so glossy/ shiny but  I can't explain how or why.  I presume it must be because of the way the glass/metal has been created.

Title: Re: Cracked earth effect bowl with hard to read signature - ID = Will Shakspeare
Post by: flying free on June 21, 2019, 09:55:00 PM
Oh these are pretty beautiful - I didn't see these :
They are like watercolour paintings in glass!

https://shakspeareglass.co.uk/collections/tresco-shore-series?page=2

This one in particular - look at that gorgeous interior as well.

Mine is much thinner than these.  I will photograph it one day and put it on the board.

m
Title: Re: Cracked earth effect bowl with hard to read signature - ID = Will Shakspeare
Post by: catshome on June 21, 2019, 10:23:18 PM
Look forward to seeing your piece.  I like no.14 on the link.......the details in the glass, when you drag the picture as big as possible, it's just like a beach.  Lovely.