Artist Statement

Sometimes I make pieces for the pure enjoyment of challenging myself or I wake up with an idea in my head bursting to come to life in colourful stained or fused glass. Sometimes it's a special commission piece a client has asked me to create for them or a loved one.

Each and every piece has its own unique back story, whether commissioned as a present or keepsake for a loved one, a birth, a memorial of someone missed, or a retirement gift for a colleague or a decorative piece for a new home and it is these stories that shape my finished artwork to be treasured for the memories they evoke.

To create a suncatcher or art panel in stained glass using the copper foil method takes time and patience. Once the design has been created the process goes a little like this for every single piece of glass in the design touched by my hands many times; choose colours, cut, grind edges smooth, wash and dry, copper foil round the outside, solder pieces together both sides, clean, patina, frame, wash, polish, finish with hanging wire. It's not much different for the lead came technique such as that used for church window, except instead of copper foiling the lead came holds the glass in place and solder and cement seal the glass and stop it rattling. Fused glass is a different technique, where the glass once cut is placed in a kiln to melt at different temperatures depending on the effect required.
None of these processes are quick and materials expensive so please appreciate my work which is guaranteed to bring many years of enjoyment for those who take it home knowing that I had you in mind for every hour I spent at my workbench!