Cousin Dave Does Exhibitionism

Apart from the London show that so many of you helped to fund by buying raffle tickets, Cousin Dave has finished his long years of toil at Plymouth College of Art and Design. He's deservedly achieved such high marks to gain his first class honours that the external moderator, who had to be called in the check that the college wasn't exaggerating, has asked him what he's doing for his doctorate.

This week the graduating students are exhibiting their final works before moving on to whatever the world has in store for them (in Cousin Dave's case, Plymouth University and a teaching qualification followed by probable worldwide fame).

Mrs The Millbrooker, The Wizzers of Soz and I caught up with him yesterday for a guided tour of the show; the headline shot shows Cousin Dave where we met up in the glass workshop.

This might help when you see his new work (on the other hand...)You'll note the reference to "unique kiln fired materials"; that's because Cousin Dave has actually invented / discovered / developed an entirely new material for use in his artworks. The patent is already being applied for.

The result, of course, is very different from his warm and fused glass pieces which we've all come to know and love. It's still glass, but now fused with Cousin Dave's new material which he has then been known to take an angle grinder to in order to reveal the bubbled interior texture. The new work is much bigger and seems aimed more towards public art; it's stunning "in the flesh", especially when there's light behind it.

The triptych piece (the three pieces, left back above) is made almost entirely from the new material (let's call it Dustiticus Davidium) and Cousin Dave says it's representative of ammonite fossils from the cliffs of Dorset. I reckon it'd look great remade about 30 foot tall and used in a large public space.

Cousin Dave has promised to send me the official photos of his new work, which will look a great deal better than my hastily snapped efforts; I'll put them up on these pages as soon as I get them.

After gazing at Cousin Dave's stuff a while, and posing for a family shot...

...we meandered around some more of the many and varied exhibits.

Each exhibitor has a notebook for comments on or by their stand; the winner for the most outrageous comment from the public was predicted, by Cousin Dave, to be an artist called Janey (surname escapes me - Pointer, Pointing?) whose pieces on show are a modern take on ancient Greek pottery. Her pieces are exhibited right next to the main reception desk to the college.

Hmmm - I think we have some issues to work through there, my lover.

All too soon, we left Cousin Dave to play with molten glass and talk loads of arty-farty bollocks with his fellow graduating students and headed homeward. I'll wind up this posting with a shot of Cousin Dave's piece that is closest in form to his previous work; the Dusticus Davidium is fused into the glass to create the darker vertical "shadows". Very effective in my untrained, almost Phillistinistic opinion.Thanks, of course, to Cousin Dave for acting as our knowledgeable guide around the exhibition and whilst I can't pretend to understand a lot of the processes, or the thoughts behind them, that have created the many wondrous objets d'art on display, I thoroughly enjoyed seeing them.

Not only thanks, but I'm sure everyone will join me in giving Cousin Dave a huge "WELL DONE" for his hard work and dedication over the last few years; good on you, mate, have a nice rest for a few weeks - you deserve it.