Here is a quick video tour of ‘The Pod’ my Floating Studio
I am a glass artist making canal inspired works on my purpose-built floating studio ‘The Pod’, moored on the Chesterfield Canal. ‘The Pod’ was constructed by Reg Johnson of ‘The Little Boat Company’. I gave Reg a very specific requirement with the build – room for a kiln!
My route to glass was via sculpture, which I studied at Sheffield Polytechnic and teaching Art and Design in secondary schools.
I fell in love with the canals first; moved onto a narrowboat and then aspired to be an artist afloat. I began experimenting with fused glass when I purchased a small table-top kiln. I was immediately hooked. I took the scenes of the nature I observed on the waterways and used glass to represent them. The same stretch of canal can change completely depending on the season, the weather and time of day. I have created a series of works called ‘Sunrise’, ‘Twilight’, ‘Dusk and ‘Sunset’. They all feature the same tree, but the colours and mood are completely different. When you consider how this tree looks in December vs August or if it were reflected in the canal; the possibilities just multiply.
I use a variety of glass fusing techniques to build the layers and textures that are my signatures. I want my work to be tactile; so people feel they must ‘Touch the Glass’.