About my work

Various styles are possible to suit individual requirements, from representational images to geometrical and abstract, from opulent colouring to a restricted palette, and from free-flowing forms to textual material.

A number of techniques are used.

The traditional painting and kiln-firing using iron oxide or silver oxide produces shading or lines in brown, black, yellow or amber.

Acid etching produces a wide range of effects including the simple addition of texture, lightening of colour, or, when two-coloured (‘flashed’) glass is used, complex colour effects.

Fusing produces another rich range of possibilities.

The pieces of glass that make up the panel can be joined either by lead (the traditional way) or using the copper foil and solder technique developed by Louis Comfort Tiffany at the beginning of the twentieth century. This latter style has the advantage of producing finer lines with much more scope for detail than is possible with lead, and is particularly effective for work on a domestic scale.

The importance of the method of joining the pieces of glass should not be underestimated: it is the means by which the design is drawn. This is especially true in the case of colourless panels that can be used where it is desirable to avoid reducing the amount of light transmitted.

Materials:
Unless machine-made glass is requested, for example to match existing Victorian or Edwardian glass, only the best-quality mouth-blown glass is used. It is much brighter and more alive and responds beautifully to changes in natural light during the day. Its colour varies across the sheet and the textures are truly random, ranging from the slightest wispy striations, through lightly bubbly (‘seedy’) effects, to the richly bubbled and heavily textured.

When a commission is undertaken, a site visit to assess all the factors that have a bearing on the outcome is strongly advised.

For some examples, see the Gallery.