Claudia Phipps Architectural Glass » Exhibitions

Claudia in her studio

claudia.phipps — Thu, 04 Dec 2014 13:23:27 +0000

Working in the studio during Bucks Open Art Week.

photo by Vanessa Champion

Bucks Open Studios 2012

claudia.phipps — Tue, 29 May 2012 20:02:36 +0000

I will be exhibiting work in my studio space, along with Sue Roberts (clay), Bonnie Phipps (textile) and Erin Thwaites (silver). Details and opening times can be found on the Bucks Open Studios Website. http://www.bucksopenstudios.org.uk/exhibitor_details.asp?id=1362

Please come along if you are in the area.

Waddesdon Manor

claudia.phipps — Tue, 29 May 2012 19:39:55 +0000

I exhibited work to sell at Sally Evan’s craft Fair at Waddesdon Manor. This was mainly engraved work, and mostly vessels. Some of this work will be available at my Open Studios event – from the 9th – 24th June. 2012.

Claudia demonstration engraving at Waddesdon Manor.

Photo by www.dannyhigginsphotography.com

Cascade

claudia.phipps — Fri, 17 Dec 2010 14:29:56 +0000

Cascade was developed from the chandelier for Pizza Express. It uses found glass objects which have been engraved, and beach glass as well as kiln-formed glass bottles. It is about the life cycle of a glass object, from being prized and valued to discarded and then re-used. This piece is currently for sale. Please enquire by email.

Shoal

claudia.phipps — Thu, 25 Nov 2010 14:56:17 +0000

Shoal is a sculpture created from engraved glass elements which are suspended from wires in front of a rose window in a former chapel. The large window needed some colour, but it seemed inappropriate to use stained glass in a building which has been converted to a home. This more sculptural solution refers back to stained glass, while freeing the glass from the constraints of the space. Shoal formed the centrepiece in my 2010 exhibiton “Life on Mars, Unweaving the rainbow” in Frome.

Fleurs du Mal

claudia.phipps — Tue, 09 Nov 2010 21:45:59 +0000

Fleur du Mal. A glass hanging inspired by the poems of Charles Baudelaire.

This work began as an idea of destruction, of the shattering of glass, and the negative impact of recent world events on the lives of ordinary people. Lives can be rebuilt, and good can come out of evil, even though the scars of destruction will remain.

Flowers often have symbolic meanings associated with love. Many plants have healing properties, although some may be poisonous. However, there is usually a sense that a flower is beautiful, decorative, and something positive. In the collection of poems “Les Fleurs du Mal”, beauty is described as both dangerous and appealing. Beneath the beautiful exterior can often lie something more sinister. Heaven and Hell create the balance of the universe in Baudelaire’s world. The harmony of the world depends on both to survive.

The arrangement of the pieces is designed to reflect early stained glass, in a geometric pattern based on squares, as in a patchwork. The idea of a tapestry or patchwork gives the work a feminine quality, as well as reflecting the idea of a piece built of small elements. Each ‘flower’ was created from a process of destruction. Squares of glass were smashed with a hammer, before being reconstructed and rearranged. The pieces were fused in the kiln, which softens the hard edges, and combined the separate colours.

From a violent action, a balance is achieved through the careful arrangement of broken pieces. The heat of the kiln erases the danger from the sharp shards. It is difficult to imagine the pieces of glass as the result of a destructive process, when the resulting work seems so delicate and harmonious.

Butterflies

claudia.phipps — Sat, 03 Jul 2010 19:44:14 +0000

A mobile of butterflies suspended from fishing line threads. The butterflies are made from surveillance mirror which reflects the natural light coming in the window, and makes light patterns move constantly in the air. Each butterfly is engraved with a unique pattern.