Swathe no.s 1 and 2 explore the main themes in my work; the tension between the things that define us and the need to seek transformation. Laborious processes shape the work; cutting, arranging, constructing, but there are also elements that stray from the predicted path - tufts of glass wander from the regimented rows, and reflections throw green fire back up out of the bucket in which cut elements are contained.
See Swathe series here
Strange Music, Rough Magic
The original pieces for Strange Music, Rough Magic, were commissioned by renowed flameworker and teacher Diana East for the exhibition, Tempest - part of the 2008 Festival of Glass. Diana asked a number of glass artists - many of whom do not usually work in the bead form - to make a single bead exploring themes drawn from Shakespeare's 'Tempest'. Fabricated from glass and oxidized silver, these tiny theatres of the soul explore something of the twin possibilities of captivity and escape that are so much a part of the Tempest and its island world.
See Strange Music, Rough Magic series here
Domestic Gospels...
Inspired by a scene from the 'Wizard of Oz' where Dorothy, after all her technicolour adventures, goes back to her black and white (literally, film-wise) existence and announces that all her heart's desires can be found in her own back yard. This series challenges Dorothy, looking at the tension that exists between those things that define and shape us, and the simultaneous need for transformation and escape.
See Domestic Gospels here
From the Corner of My Eye...
In "Through the Looking-Glass",
See 'From the Corner of my Eye' here