Glass as a Fine Art medium

The great thing about teaching a creative subject, is you get to learn so much yourself!

Nancy Goodens runs Artworks a studio in Aldsworth that offers a wide range of creative classes and workshops. Fused glass is one of her most popular subjects, and the purchase of a larger glass fusing kiln last year to fire more student work, has prompted Nancy to take her own glass work in new directions.

Having a bigger kiln became a necessity for the studio, but it has also enabled me to explore this exciting material further and on a much bigger scale. I’ve been working with glass ‘frits’ (granules of coloured glass) and glass enamels, utilising the textures and effects unique to glass, adding layers and firing sometimes several times to create a feeling of depth.

Nancy’s glass work features mostly landscapes and seascapes, inspired by her large charcoal and pastel drawings and her own photos.

I’m essentially using glass as a fine art medium, utilising textures, colour and linear marks, in an almost painterly way. The firing process then changes everything, and I love the surprise I get every time I open the kiln to view my work.

Nancy’s glass pieces are then framed to hang on the wall, or mounted in wood blocks as free-standing pieces, and sometimes evolve into dishes or functional items.

Every time I finish a piece of glass work, I’m already thinking ‘What happens if I…?

Nancy at Artworks is Venue 106 in the Trail. Do visit to view her work and find out more about courses.