How I Got Started

For many years my day job was as a technical author working in IT, writing software manuals. Yes, that's just as dull as it sounds. Needing a bit of colour in life, I went back to university to study graphic design and illustration, earning a BA (Hons) in Visual Communication in 2007. I became a stained glass artist in 2017, using my graphic design and illustration skills to create original patterns.  My main body of work is built using the copper foil technique made popular by L. C. Tiffany. Now, as a part-time student at the world-class National Glass Centre at the University of Sunderland, my repertoire has expanded from plain stained and recycled/upcycled glass. It now includes, for example, fusing, sandblasting and crocheted copper wire.

Catalysts for my work come from history and mythology such as stories in the Welsh Mabinogion. When visiting places like the British Museum, the Laing Art Gallery in Newcastle or cathedrals, there's always a sketch book in hand. I've been spotted lurking on demolition sites in London to scavenge interesting glass from old windows.

Ancient History

Long ago, we moved into a new house where a huge heap of glass was left behind by the previous owners. It was mostly clear, with interesting daisy patterns and ripples, cut into rectangles, circles and funny little arc shapes. In 2004 I saw a stained glass course at at South Hill Park Arts Centre in Berkshire. I thought - oh, I could use it there. My tutor was Caroline Loveys. Although I started off with that unexpected windfall of clear glass (which many of my designs still use, all these years later), the incredible colours made me fall in love with stained glass. The intensity of Bristol Blue, the gold and red that never fades... it's like holding a rainbow in your hand.  This is my craft; I’ve never looked back.