HUSBAND and wife Paul and Gillian Adams had worked individually as artists for more than 20 years and not long after starting to collaborate they soon realised why.

The couple booked an exhibition together before creatig an art work for it. And the quest to get a finished product drove them to despair.

“It nearly ended in us killing each other,” laughs Paul. “It was just before our 30th wedding anniversary and I began to wonder if we’d ever reach it!”

Fortunately they stuck in there and their latest team effort is going on show at The World of Glass. Their inspiration came from a discarded but colourful lump of glass waste, known as ‘cullet’, given to them by an uncle who was an ex-miner.

Paul added: “Two years ago we collaborated to produce an exhibit for the final show at the Godfrey Pilkington Gallery before it moved to The World of Glass.

“Shortly after that we booked this current exhibition but we really only got down to work this Christmas and it’s been hectic.

“Gillian took some photographs that revealed the beauty of this flawed and unwanted piece of glass and that suggested our theme.

“I am a figurative artist while Gillian is more abstract but we decided to link up to explore this hidden potential in objects, old crafts and even people that have been discarded.

“Miners and mining figure strongly in our exhibition and Gillian often finds inspiration in items she finds in charity shops such as dolls, old tools or even objects such as stepladders.

“It’s all about looking deeper, seeing things in a new light and recognising their beauty.”

Cullet runs at The World of Glass until May 16.