Glass Design Collaboration: Daedalian Glass Studios & Nicholas Mynheer
Nicholas Mynheer (Nick) and Daedalian Glass Studios Founder, Davia Walmsley have been collaborating on projects together for over 20 years. Their first glass design collaboration was a commission for the Millennium Window at Worcester Cathedral and they have formed a strong artistic understanding and friendship and over the years since – at times even meeting in McDonalds car park to talk about projects and design ideas. They both have a mutual love for art and design and manage to combine their extraordinary talents to create truly magical works of glass art.
Nicholas Mynheer
Nick studied at the Hornsey College of Art in London and graduated in Graphic Design in 1981, two years after Davia graduated in 3D Design from the same institution. After spending several years working in advertising, Nick eventually moved into painting full time and then branched out into sculpture and glass design. His art can described as largely figurative with his designs being almost always biblical based and with a richly expressed linear quality. Simplicity is key in his designs whether it be translated in stone, oil, or glass – anything he feels is important to the design is emphasised and anything not-important is stripped out.
Some of Nicks largest collaborative projects with Daedalian Glass Studios are the Abingdon School Chapel, Studley Priory and St Nicholas’ Church Islip.
Nick designed five harmonious sequence windows named Trinity Window, Michaelmas Term Window, Lent Term Window, Summer Term Window, and Services Window. All the designs depict various religious symbolism such as the birth and nativity of Jesus, the resurrection, and Jesus breaking bread with his disciples.
Each panel for this project was made using glass fusing techniques. Multiple layers of coloured glass were cut by hand or water jet to create various shapes, and layered with coloured frit to create colour depth in the windows. This process created a multi-textured three-dimensional effect.
Nick working on drawings for Abingdon School Chapel
Trinity Window
Lent Term Window
Michaelmas Term Window
Trinity Window
Davia working on glass design for Abingdon School Chapel
“What turned out to be a monumental project over 8 years, was meticulously manufactured in fused glass by Davia Walmsley, who translates my painted designs superbly into glass.”
Dating in parts back to 1176, this was originally a home for Benedictine nuns. Studley Priory itself was originally built in 1587 and has had only four owners in its long history. During the war it was also used as a sanatorium for Royal Air Force Officers. In 1947 the house changed hands and was ran as a country-house hotel for the next 14 years. During that time many famous guests enjoyed visits, including C.S Lewis, Beverley Nichols, Sandy Wilson, and Adrian Boult.
For this project, Nick depicted this history spanning over 1000 years across four windows. Davia re-imagined those designs by using sandblasting and etching techniques to create eye-catching depth and design.
Nick and Davia at Studley Priory
Studley Priory church detail
Studley Priory piano detail
Studley Priory window
Studley Priory WIP image
Studley Priory window
“I collaborated with Davia and Daedalian Glass Studios to produce a set of 15 sandblasted panels charting the 1000 year history of an important manor house.”
St Nicholas Church in Islip Oxfordshire dates back to 1200. A major rebuild took place in the 14th century with the tower being added in the 15th century featuring a mixture of Gothic and Early English styles.
Nick designed a screen with symbolic portrayals of Edward the Confessor, Saint Nicholas and the Holy Trinity. Daedalian then sandblasted this design onto 12mm toughened float glass, where the design was etched onto glass, heat soak tested and polished around the edges.
St Nicholas’s Church
Installation at St Nicholas’s Church
Close up detail St Nicholas’s Church
Nick’s design for St Nicholas’s Church
Davia working on St Nicholas’s Church
Final installlation shot St Nicholas’s Church
“Based on themes of St Nicholas and Edward the Confessor, the design was sandblasted wonderfully by Davia Walmsley.”
– Nicholas Mynheer
Other projects include Birmingham Cathedral, Tuddenham St Martin’s Church, St Mary’s Church, St Barnabas Church,St Christopher’s Church, St Peter and St Paul Great Missenden, and Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham.
Birmingham Cathedral
Tuddenham St Martin’s Church
St Mary’s Church Iffley
St Baranabas Window
St Christopher’s Window
St Peter and St Paul Great Missenden
The Healing Window Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham
Collaboration with Daedalian Glass Studios
Daedalian Glass Studios has a proven track record of collaborating with artists, interior designers, architects, principle contractors, and many other stakeholders to deliver bespoke decorative glass installations to the clients requirements.
Our team of talented designers can work with a clearly defined brief to translate designs into glass, start completely from the beginning to develop an idea collaboratively, or pick up a project from any point in between.
If you wish to discuss a glass design project, please contact our team via email ([email protected]) or phone (01253 702 531).
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