Obituary: Brian Blanthorn

Brian Blanthorn holding a piece of his glass

3 More Image(s) In Gallery

Brian Blanthorn died on Wednesday 29 February 2012 at his home in Shanklin, I.O.W, following a two year fight with cancer.

Brian was born in Manchester in 1957, he moved to Rochdale when he was four-years-old.

He was educated at Meanwood Primary School and then Oulder Hill High School.

He went on to study at Rochdale Art College before gaining a BA in Glass and Ceramics at Stourbridge College of Art and an MA in Glass and Ceramics at the Royal College of Art.

In 1983 Brian and his wife, Jenny, set up a studio workshop in Peterborough for Blanthorn Glass.

In 1997 they relocated to the Isle of Wight.

Brian was always questioning and experimenting with his art. His glass was his passion, and he was constantly pushing the boundaries of what glass could do, the properties of glass, and how to get colour into his work.

His inspiration came from the myriad of patterns found in nature, such as striated and weathered rock formations and the beautiful colours and patterns of tropical marine fish.

To produce each piece of glass involved a lengthy, time consuming, process, which took many years to develop and perfect. From the initial inspiration the complex process involved cutting, assembling, fusing, grinding and/or slumping, and polishing.

Brian started out with an interest in ceramics but was always interested in what was going on inside the piece. Brian eventually realised that if he wanted to see the interior then glass was the best material to work with.

Later he made much larger boulder like pieces and started to incorporate dichroic glass in some pieces, and using optically clear glass. (Dichroic glass has a thin layer of metals and other materials to give a very high colouration which changes due to light and viewing angle)

As his work was very experimental he was also invited to lecture at universities and conferences. His work also interested Pilkington’s as they were struggling with technical problems in their glass manufacturing and they hoped the work Brian was doing with his glass would solve some of their problems. But Brian wanted to create in his studio, not work in a laboratory solving technical problems.

His pieces include a chandelier, specially commissioned to hang in an old traditional Parisian house, glass bowls, glass pebbles and glass panels.

Today, Blanthorn Glass is exhibited world-wide and can be found in public and private collections in the UK and overseas.

Over the years Brian has been commissioned by various companies for both architectural and presentation work.

Commissions include creating seven glass panels for Coca-Cola's UK Headquarters, in Hammersmith, London; a large light designed in collaboration with Louise Slater, at Southampton Art Gallery; a glass table top for private client in collaboration with John Makepeace and prizes for the Rochdale Online Awards 2007 - 2010.

Brian won various awards, including the Royal College of Art minor travelling award to Outer Hebrides, an award from the Worshipful Company of Glass Sellers of London and the Mathiledehoe Prize, in Rosenthal, Germany.

Brain has been exhibiting his work since 1991. His most recent exhibition was in 2011 at the 50 years of Studio Glass from Great Britain, at the European Museum of Modern Glass.

Brian’s work has been the subject of several magazine and newspaper articles, including The Independent, as well as featuring in a variety of books.

Brian leaves his wife Jenny and his two children, Tara, 21, who is currently studying Zoology at Aberystwyth University and Oliver, 18, who is studying Theoretical Physics at the University of Manchester.

He has two sisters, Pauline and Lynn.

To view Brian and Jenny’s work visit: www.blanthorn.com 

Donations: www.justgiving.com/Brian-Blanthorn