Jan Simpson

I am a glass artist drawn to the quiet dialogue between light, colour, and form. Trained in heritage stained glass, I have spent over 30 years blending traditional craftsmanship with contemporary techniques to create work grounded in history yet open to exploration.

Alongside my studio practice, I teach stained and fused glass courses from my Bognor Regis studio and in New Zealand during the winter months.

Raised in Hong Kong and New Zealand and now based on the south coast of England, my work is shaped by a strong sense of place and personal narrative. Each piece holds a moment — where memory, emotion, and story are rendered in glass.

In December 2025, I completed and installed my latest major commission, The Platinum Window, at St Mary’s Church, Felpham. Created over two years, the work celebrates service, community, and light, and it was a privilege to realise this work within my local parish.

After recently completing a BA in Glass and Ceramics at the University for the Creative Arts (Farnham), I have expanded the expressive potential of heritage stained glass through three-dimensional casting and moulding techniques, allowing the medium to move beyond the pictorial into sculptural form.

My practice seeks to honour this increasingly rare craft while redefining its place in contemporary art and design. I work primarily with kiln-formed, fused, cast, and painted glass, often incorporating flame-worked elements and recycled offcuts, with each piece designed to interact with natural light.