Naomi Brangwyn

My glass work has emerged and developed from initially studying art at Reading Art College, then at the Islington Institute as a mature student, and through work with textiles. Photographing Suffolk skies and seas combined with going for walks in the countryside provide constant inspiration.

I use traditional stained glass techniques, mostly copper foiling, but adapting this with my own artistic style in which I build up layers of glass with natural and found objects. The result is a unique mix of glass and lead with attractive contrasting textures of wood, shell, stone and metal.

Glass for me has become a way of life. A walk on the beach often reveals interesting finds; I might see compositions across fields or simply while walking a country lane. My inspiration comes from the colours, shapes and textures to be found in nature; the soft and the muted but also the moments of riot and clashing colour. 

I’m always looking for those hidden, uncelebrated aspects of nature; a muddy pool, a patch of wild flowers, disparate pieces washed in by the tide or abandoned in a rock pool. I’m attempting to convey the apparent random and confused nature of the natural world. Continually exploring different types of glass and experimenting with materials, allows my ideas to evolve. The colour of the glass panels frequently changes with the moving light, depending on the time of day and changing seasons, as well as the change between natural and artificial light reflecting from and through the glass. The panels are suitable for hanging against a plain wall as well as in a window (the layering has to be tamed for permanent installation in windows and doors).