I chose to work in glass. I enjoy creating glass in all its various forms, from hot fluid flameworking to creating layers of transparency from sheets of flat glass sculpted and fused in a kiln.
I spend a lot of time walking and enjoying nature, drawing and sketching ideas, writing notes and finally making, which becomes a completely separate process. I don’t follow a drawing specifically, although all of these steps are linked. The glass pieces take on a life of their own and are constantly developed and reviewed.
After obtaining a Fine Arts degree in sculpture I discovered glass a few years later when travelling in America in the early ’90s. I scaled down and began making jewellery from molten glass, learning the techniques of lampworking from successful glassblower, John Winter.
Recurring themes from my original metal sculptures present themselves again in the simple repetition of pattern and shape. The Aqua Swirl Series is very similar to the larger metal sculptures I made many years ago. Influenced by the rich colours of the sea and coastline in Devon and Cornwall they incorporate the process of fusing flat glass with lamp-worked glass beads, requiring several kiln firings and have actually been technically quite time-consuming!
In contrast, my glass beads and Dichroic Stripe pendants are reminiscent of the brightly coloured marine life in our seas.
Claire Hall runs a full-time glass studio in Backwell, North Somerset and teaches part-time at Warm Glass in Wrington. She has an Honours Degree in Fine Art and a PGCE in Art, Design and Technology. She is a member of The Association of Contemporary Jewellery, The Contemporary Glass Society and The Somerset Guild of Craftsmen.