Glyn was selected as the winner of the Autumn Voices flash entry for November on War & Remembrance with his piece entitled Norman’s War. We are delighted to have him back on the site and he’s been kind enough to answer a few of our quirky questions so you can get to know him a little better.
Tell us 4 important facts about yourself:
- I am a semi-retired professional artist, once a teacher of Art, English & Drama.
- I have the kindest, most caring, uncomplaining and unselfish wife imaginable.
- I have two talented children and four amazing grandchildren.
- I am stubborn, selfish, determined and accused by my wife of “punching above my weight”. She may be right. Okay, she probably is.
What is your favourite age that you’ve been so far in life, and why?
37 years old because that was the age I gave up my day job, putting my family and mortgage at risk to go into free-fall as an itinerant artist. My father-in-law called me a fool.
I’ve been a happy fool ever since.
Who is your favourite fictional character or famous person over 60?
Michael Palin (number one on my fantasy dinner party guest list)
You are alone in your house (no pets). You have three minutes to get out before the house collapses and burns to the ground. What one possession would you grab and take with you?
The USB stick containing all my latest poetry.
What’s your favourite creative pastime?
That’s easy – writing poetry
Tell us something about yourself that’s surprising or unexpected.
In 1982 I was lying in bed thinking, “What can I do? I don’t want to be a teacher all my working life.” Yes, I love the kids, getting up on my hind legs and ‘performing’ my lessons. But internal politics, meetings, jargon and staffroom gossip were not my thing at all, so career advancement was unlikely and unlooked for.
Five minutes later I had invented in my head a unique art process blending pen and ink drawing with coloured light on translucent overlays, capturing the resulting image with a camera and using photography as a printing medium in order to produce ethereal prints that I could sell.
I then spent a sleepless night trying to work out why it wouldn’t work. I couldn’t, in theory, find a fault so spent the next week or so producing my first example. I had a ‘eureka moment’ when I saw the final result and have spent the rest of my life capitalising on it at craft and design shows all over the country.
Now virtually retired, I concentrate on my poetry, baring my soul to anyone who shows an iota of interest.