Seeing It Through

This week, we’d like to share with you an upcoming two day workshop taking place this July and lead by Glass Artist Alex Hoare named “Seeing it Through”. 

 “I am inspired by glass because of its intrinsic relationship to light, and the potential that offers for creating change and movement in an artwork. Over the years working as an artist in a variety of disciplines, I have taken constant inspiration from the different colours, light and textures that relate to different places in the British Isles that I love – Cornwall, Hampshire, Scotland. My glassware distils the colours of landscape into different collections and objects that draw in different ways on these places. The form of the objects is deliberately organic, to encourage people to touch a material that is often seen as fragile – untouchable. The moulds used to form the glass are coated in a way that the outside of the bowls pick up subtle textures and surfaces to contrast with the shininess of the inside – like shells from the beach or the flints that litter the Hampshire countryside.” Alex Hoare. 

Photograph:Glass work by Alex Hoare

The central theme running through the workshop will be the qualities of glass as a material: translucency, colour and ability to hold light. You will explore ideas through a number of techniques using drawing/painting/collage as well as glass.   You will think about theories of colour, colour mixing and light’s relationship with colour and glass.  These ideas will build through sampling towards a final glass panel.

Here is a breakdown of the workshop to give you more information and get you inspired!

Day One:

On the first day we will focus on design, and translating composition and colour into glass. Participants should bring in images that inspire them, particularly thinking about colour and simple form. Alex will give an introduction to her work and the work of other glass artists, and start to think about how colour can be mixed through glass. We will spend some of the day working on design through colour, paint, drawing and collage with translucent materials. In the afternoon these will be translated into samples using a number of different techniques with glass, thinking particularly about how these might be layered into the final piece. Samples will be fired in time for the next session.

Day Two:

During the second day of the workshop we will evaluate in a group the samples from the first day. Using these, and other techniques if appropriate, participants will develop a final design, building this design into either two smaller or one larger glass panel. These will be fired and available for collection two weeks after the date of the workshop.

Please bring:

• Images, photographs and ideas that inspire you.
• Any materials that you like working in to draw/paint/collage.
• Any images of glass that inspires you

If you are interested in taking part in this workshop, you can book online through our website here or, if you’d prefer, you can contact us via telephone on 02392 472491 to secure your space!

To view more of Alex’s own work, please visit here website here