NORTH Yorkshire glassmakers Stephen Gillies and Kate Jones have combined old and new techniques to create a distinctive portrait of Teesdale.

Designed in Rosedale Abbey in the heart of the North York Moors National Park, the work of Gillies Jones Glass is on show at the Bowes Museum, Barnard Castle, until May 13 in an exhibition entitled A Portrait Of Place.

Glass pieces by this long-established pair can be found in galleries and museums worldwide, such as the V&A in London. Together they make cameo glass, the process first involving Gillies mouth-blowing the basic form, applying layers of fine colour using Swedis overlay, a challenging technique learned during a long international apprenticeship.

The plain piece is then decorated by Jones, who using sandblasting and wheel engraving: intaglio techniques that erode the surface of the glass to reveal layers of colour and allow light to flow through the form.

The nine pieces in A Portrait Of Place are inspired by aerial views of Barnard Castle and the surrounding Teesdale, taken from digital satellite images through the seasons.

"The landscapes of Teesdale have long been an inspiration to artists, including John Sell Cotman and JMW Turner," says Kate. "Our exploration and portrait of the area uses a different perspective, digital satellite imaging, which enables a new view of the landscape, revealing the geology, rivers systems and layers of human endeavour, carved into the land and overlaid for millennia."

The Bowes Museum is open every day from 10am to 5pm, exhibiting an art collection that includes early works by French glassmaker Émile Gallé.