NEW for 2026
"If you feel safe in the area you're working in, you're not in the right area. Always go a little further into the water than you feel capable of being in. Go a bit out of your depth and when you don't feel that your feet are quite touching the bottom, you're just about in the right place to do something exciting.
David Bowie
Fresh Air 2026
'The Pellucids'
2026 is breathing "Fresh Air" into the studio—literally. I’ve been elbow-deep in a new body of work for the Fresh Air 2026 exhibition.
I am absolutely delighted to finally introduce one of my latest collections of work, The Pellucids—a series of glass sculptures designed primarily to live outdoors, though they are quite happy to migrate inside if the mood strikes.
The idea came from noticing how nature repeats its designs. I’ve always been struck by the similarities between gardens, coral reefs, and the sponge and coral gardens of the deep ocean. (many thanks to @schmidtocean)
Despite being worlds apart, they all share a wonderful rhythm of architectural form, vibrant, cores of colour and optical interactions. My aim was to connect these worlds, creating pieces that feel less like man-made objects and more like a natural extension of the landscape/oceanscape itself.
In the Garden (And in the House)
As you can see from the image gallery, when these pieces are nestled among the riverbank's wild green foliage, they interact constantly with their environment. The optical effects channel the light, sparkle in midday sun, and softly glow with reflected light in the twilight.
However, brought indoors against a simpler backdrop, like a plain wall, they take on a different, sculptural persona, highlighting the fluid, suspended layers of colour within the glass and interacting with each other, bending the light and creating patterns within themselves.
They are thoughtful, and—if I say so myself—rather lovely to look at. They don’t shout for attention, but they certainly know how to hold a space.
I’d love to know what you think, and I can't wait to see where they end up settling down.
You can see them in person, and take one or 3 home if you like, as all work is available to purchase at the Fresh Air Sculpture Exhibition*, Quenington Old Rectory Gardens, Cirencester GL7, UK
14 Jun 2026, 10:00 – 15 Jul 2026, 19:00
*The Fresh Air exhibition (or Fresh Air Sculpture Show) supports and is entirely run by the Quenington Sculpture Trust (Registered Charity No. 1071956). All proceeds from the exhibition go directly to the charity to fund education and wellbeing programs
Studio Ellie Maya
'Through the Crescent'
And there are more things blooming in the studio... Introducing: 🌸Second Bloom🌸
I am very pleased to share a glimpse of a new series of floral-inspired sculptures, created for the upcoming summer exhibition at the Royal Crescent Hotel, Bath, in collaboration with Studio Ellie Maya.
These glass and copper forms are designed to celebrate the quiet elegance of the British summer. We have called them the Second Bloom series—a title that reflects not just their shape, but the very nature of how they came to be. Each piece is crafted using remelted waste glass and recycled materials, giving elements that had served their purpose a gentle, second life.
There is a lovely, relaxing sort of alchemy in taking something discarded and letting it bloom all over again in the summer light.
In the Borders
As you can see when they are nestled among the flower borders, they are designed to blend into the garden landscape. The soft pastels catch the dappled sunlight, while the copper stems have been given a weathered, verdigris finish to make them feel as though they have always belonged there.
Up close, you can see the fluid, translucent quality of the glass, with subtle ribs and curves that mimic the gentle opening of a bud.
They are thoughtful, quiet and—I hope—bring a sense of calm to the spaces they inhabit. They don’t clamour for your attention, but rather invite you to pause for a moment.
I do hope you enjoy them over a cream tea or lunch in Bath this summer.
If you like them, all work is available to purchase from Studio Ellie Maya at the at the Royal Crescent Hotel and Studio, Royal Cres, Bath BA1 2LS, UK
The exhibition runs from 05 Jun 2026, 10:00 – 27 Sept 2026, 17:00
'From Other Lands'
An upcoming exhibition at Ruthin Craft Centre
Opening September 2026
"The bubbles are not the sound itself, but its visible trace—rendering a hidden conversation visible."
Resonance: The Journey
I have always been fascinated by how it feels to live in a place you aren't originally from, and the deep, unexpected connections you find. Having moved to Wales only a few years ago, I have been deeply touched by the proud sense of belonging people have here, the rich love for the arts, and, above all, the unique sound of the place—the beautiful rhythm of the Welsh language, with songs in voice, stone, and sea which carry a history much deeper than words.
This new collection, Resonance, is a quiet celebration of sound, landscape, and the invisible threads that connect us to the places we find ourselves.
The spark for this work came from an incredible discovery: the resident pod of dolphins in Cardigan Bay actually communicate using a distinct regional accent—their own unique Welsh voice. To bring this collection to life, I translated acoustic sonograms of these dolphin vocalisations directly into the walls of hot glass vessels, capturing the essence of their voices in fine clusters of bubbles and swirling colour.
These fleeting, ephemeral fragments of sound are moved and distorted in the making process—only seen from certain angles, never in their entirety, and held fast between heavy layers of watery teals and deep sea-blues. When the light catches the form, the bubbles appear almost as a physical breath caught in a moment of seeing.
For me, submerging underwater triggers a profound sensory inversion: as my hearing becomes muffled, my vision takes over to interpret the colour and movement of the marine environment, yet most marine life relies almost entirely on sound. To capture this paradox for the 'From Other Lands' exhibition I embed visual representations of the vocalisations from Cardigan Bay’s resident dolphins into hot glass, capturing the rhythms of their acoustic Welsh dialect as layered bubbles.
This methodology mirrors Cynghanedd—a Welsh poetic form in which patterns of sound create an internal harmony and hidden structure. It is often described as a music within language, where repetition, rhythm, and echo bind words together. In a similar way, these vocalisations become bubbles captured in glass. They are not the sound itself, but its visible trace—making vocal patterns tangible within glass in the same way Cynghanedd makes sound patterns tangible within poetry.
For me, this acoustic focus mirrors the deeply personal experience of migration, a phenomenon that spans the living world. Settling in Wales, I found that a sensitivity to its voice—through culture, language, and music—fosters a profound love of place; these elements form the very cadence of Welsh life. Each vessel in Resonance serves as a visual record of this cross-species communication, inviting us to look beyond ourselves and find connection in the shared spaces we inhabit.
I hope these pieces carry a gentle sense of peace and a reminder of how interconnected we all are, human and non-human. I would be absolutely delighted to hear your thoughts on this new collection.
