Recently I was delighted to have a visit from a charming six form student from King Alfred School in Burnham on Sea. A -Level Art Students are required to study an artist and their work as a part of their A -Level research. During her visit she viewed some of my glass work and had some great questions about my working methods and inspiration. This is how it went:
Q. Could you walk me through your creative process, from the initial concept to the finished piece?
A. It all starts with an idea and a rough sketch. I might flick through some images of a related subject as a kind of warm up to help formalise my ideas.
Once I feel happy with my design drawing and if it has been approved by the client, I then use a black sharpie pen to create the cut lines for the glass.
The next step is to carefully select the glass that I intend to use. I then cut each section and file any areas that need slight modification.
After that, I then paint or draw the line work on the glass. I usually do this using a dip pen, much like pen and ink art. I dip the pen into my mixed stained glass paint, which consists of finely ground lead and glass mixed with water and a binder such as gum Arabic.
I then fire the painted glass. Once cool the next day I work on the shading. This part gives the images their form, just like the shading in a drawing. Each shading needs to be fired in the kiln. It often needs to be repeated 4 to 5 times to achieve the effect that I like. Every addition of shading or other paint requires firing in the kiln, it is a slow process. By doing it gradually I’m able to create more depth and realistic effects. It’s rather like adding pixels to a photograph to improve it’s quality.
Once the glass painting and the shading has been completed; including any additions of silver stain to create yellow, or enameled colours, the glass is ready to be constructed with lead came. This part is carried out by placing the design on an assembly board and using it’s cut lines as a guide to assemble the glass. The lead came is fitted around the glass to connect it together. I then solder the joins using a soldering iron. After that the panel is cemented with a black putty-like mixture.
The putty cement is left to dry out for a few days. I then clean up any residual of cement on the glass, and patina the lead came to make it turn a darker blackish colour. And then it’s the final polish with great polish which gives the lead a shiny graphite grey/black appearance. It’s an important finishing touch that really enhances the vibrancy of the glass.
Q. What is the purpose or message you are trying to convey in your art or a particular piece?
A. I’m really saying through my work, “Look how precious and wonderful nature is, please respect it and care for it. However the people that buy my work are mainly wildlife and nature lovers, but I hope it might make others that see it care more. I also like to show what can be done with the medium of stained glass. I like doing my little bit in the world to keep it relevant and appreciated in settings beyond the church. It is no longer primarily a church art. Stained glass has moved on from that time and has a place in domestic settings and secular public buildings.
Q. How do your personal experiences or background influence the themes in your art?
A. I was raised in the countryside. I was always outside in nature, going off on exploratory walks with my dog “Panda” up in the Mendip hills. I’ve always loved trying to capture the beauty of nature in my drawings and design. Wildlife is quite elusive and wild animals are rarely viewed up close. I like being able to get up close in my work rather like a zoom lens camera.
Q. Do you start with a specific idea, or do you allow the themes to evolve during the process?
A. I usually start with an idea or theme in mind, but it some times changes as I work, it morphs into other shapes and themes. However, if it’s a commission I’m usually working with my clients ideas. I love the magic of making their thoughts into a stained glass window. It fascinates me how a thought transferred from their mind/s to mine becomes an artwork in glass. I enjoy these communications with the client.
Q. How do you want the viewer to feel or think when they see your work?
A. I’d like them to feel the same sense of wonder as I do, to appreciate natures beauty and value it. And the beauty of the glass and to see that it’s not just a religious art medium.
Q. What are your favourite or least favourite parts of being a professional artist?
A. My favourite part is the competition of a design drawing and feeling pleased with it. And then making it come alive in the glass and feeling that my clients are happy with it, plus my own satisfaction. Keeping accounts and paper work are not my favourite thing, but are of course very important.
Q. Is there a piece you struggled with. How did you solve the conceptual issues?
A. Some times a design can be challenging to pull together. A client might want a scene that doesn’t fit the required framework. It can usually be worked around creatively and or through negotiation.
Q. Can you describe your theory or thought process behind your colour palette?
A. It’s very intuitive. I naturally utilize colour theory. However, some times an unusual colour combination will work really well in the glass. I spend a lot of time selecting the glass colours and hues by placing combinations of glass together on the lightbox.
Q. Do you have a particular colour or colour combinations that you favour in your work.
A. I love greens and blues and use them quite a lot. Green provides a sense of harmony, paired with blue it creates a calm but fresh vibrancy. I love purple too, but you have to be careful where you use it. If a window looks out onto grass the green behind the window can make purple appear to be grey, just as it would if you were to mix those two colours together on a paint pallet.
Q. How do you know when a piece of work is actually finished?
A. When the design feels complete, i.e.; the scale and detail feels balanced and complete. With the actual glass, you have to be careful not to over or under shade the glass pieces. Too little and the sunlight will bleach out the detail to the human eye. Too much and the scene will look dark and heavy.
And practically speaking’ the work is finished after the final clean up, patina and polish.
Process, Materials, and Techniques.
Q. What are your Must Have tools or materials?
A. There are so many materials that are vital to stained glass, the glass, lead came, solder, plus the specialist paints, stains and enamels. I often adapt items to use as tools. I have a lovely solid silver probing tool that was in my step fathers veterinary kit. He was a veterinary professor in a time when some of the tools were made from expensive materials. I use it for scratching out fine details in the glass paint. A process called Scragfitto. It’s very useful and also has sentimental value. I think of him when using it. I think he’d smile at me using it in my work as well, but in an entirely different way.
My kiln is of course a very Must Have piece of equipment. It’s a Kiln Care Kiln with the heating elements in the lid. It’s very economical and fires my paintwork perfectly.
Q. Where do you buy your equipment and materials?
A. I buy from three main suppliers.
Creative Glass Guild in Bristol, Lead and Light in London, and Pearson’s glass in Liverpool.
They are able to courier the glass and equipment out to customers. It saves a lot of time having it delivered to my door. I’m also able to reuse the containers and bubble wrap to pack my commissions, which is great!
Development and Evolution.
Q. Why did you choose stained glass to express your creativity?
A. I was very undecided as a student regarding which medium to specialise in. Stained glass chose me really. I fell in love with the materials, the vibrancy of the glass, and what can be achieved with it. There is nothing else quite like it.
In particular the stained glass of the 19th century artist Harry Clarke greatly inspired me. After seeing slides of his opulent, jewel like work at art school, I was filled with a passion to create fabulous glass artworks like his, it was a real turning point. I was considering illustration at one point. I collect beautifully illustrated books. However, I’m able to work in an illustrative way with the themes in glass. So it could be said that I’ve become a stained glass illustrator.
Q. When drawing your designs do you have to think of how you’ll break the design up into cuttable pieces?
A. Yes, that is a big part of it. I draw the design and then go back and make adjustments so that it can work as a stained glass design, which is called a “Cartoon.” It’s a bit of both really because when I’m drawing I do have the cut lines for the glass in mind.
Q. Are there any particular artists that have inspired your work.
A. Oh Yes, there are so many.
Here are a few:
Harry Clarke
Edward Burn Jones. William Morris, Margaret Rope.
Illustrators:
Kennith Lilly, Gennady Spirin, Dewi Plass, Edmond Dulac, Arthur Rackham , Raymond Booth, Kate Leiper, Helen Ward, Valery Greely. These are just a few who’s work I admire and learn from. I’m always looking up and enjoying artists work. I think many are geniuses with the level of artistic magical beauty they achieve.
Q. Do you ever turn down a commission/subject?
A. Yes, I do. I don’t work with religious themes or hunting themes. And some times I might be asked to create a scene that is outside of my area of expertise or specialism, that I won’t enjoy or do well. I do make some exceptions if some thing intrigues me and I can visualise it working out in my mind. This is probably magical thinking, but my belief is, if I can see it in my minds eye, I can do it.
But then I guess that’s what we artists do all the time!