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On July 4th H.R.H. The Prince Charles, Duke of Rothesay, will officially open the ‘ALASTAIR PILKINGTON STUDIO’, the latest addition to Lybster’s now renowned international centre of excellence in glass making situated in the Scottish Highlands.

The studio is housed in a handsome newly refurbished limestone building, once the old school and dating from 1877, which has been transformed into a fully equipped modern glass workshop and studio.

The building was purchased by proceeds from the sale of Sir Alastair Pilkington’s collection of contemporary glass after his death in 1997, generously donated by his widow Lady Pilkington. It has been fully equipped as a workshop and studio providing a wide range of facilities for hot and cold glass at a cost of over £200,000 made available by support from the Scottish Arts Council National Lottery Fund, Caithness & Sutherland Enterprise, the Foundation for Sports and the Arts and a number of charitable trusts.

North Lands Creative Glass was set up in 1995 as a Scottish Charity. It is an international centre for the promotion of studio glass at the highest level whose aim is to promote collaboration between glass artists, fine artists, architects, craftsmen and designers in the production of glass for the modern age.
 

The annual summer school offers master classes for glass practitioners led by internationally renowned artists. During the weekend between classes there is a high level weekend conference on specific related subjects.

In addition North Lands provides residencies for talented young artists to enable them to develop new skills and new ideas in ideal surroundings. During residencies artists are free to use the facilities available and are supplied with basic materials. The studio is also available for hire by individuals or groups of artists and for commercial concerns and special projects.

North Lands Creative Glass intends to further benefit the local community by developing outreach and educational work.

There will be an Open Day for the general public to view the new studio on Saturday 6 July from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Also on show will be an exhibition of selected pieces of the North Lands Creative Glass collection and work by the new residents as well as local glass artists.