AN ENTERPRISING student has spotted a window of opportunity after creating art from old glass washed up on the beach.
Darlington College student Lewis Grimes is working on setting up an online shop for his work which transforms sea glass into art.
The 19-year-old, of Shildon, has just completed a level 3 extended diploma in creative practises and is planning his next moves for a gap year before heading off to university.
“I was inspired by something I saw on the internet and love beach-combing,” he said. “I visited Seaham and found a lot of sea glass on the beach which was perfect to draw on. I make sketches first in pencil then paint on the glass with acrylic. It proved to be perfect for my art project.
“I love it and certainly will be doing more. The flowers only take about five minutes to create and the larger pieces, such as those of the Netflix cartoon Bee and Puppycat, take around 30 minutes to an hour.”
Darlington College art and design lecturer Amy Minto said: “I love the fact that something so creative can come from something given back by the sea. Lewis has spotted a real opportunity here and I’m looking forward to watching it develop over his gap year.”
For more information on opportunities at Darlington College visit www.darlington.ac.uk.