Claudia Phipps Architectural Glass » sculpture

“Ripples” a sculptural installation at the Rosie Hospital, Cambridge.

claudia.phipps — Wed, 29 Aug 2012 21:12:15 +0000

Over the past year I have been working on a series of artworks for the extension of The Rosie Hosptial at Addenbrookes in Cambridge. The new building has been designed to put users at ease and create a friendly environment. The artwork focused on the emotions of people using the unit, and was deliberately abstract. I wanted to suggest ideas rather than impose them. The 3 separate artworks interact with each other. “Ripples” is the central idea, with the “Flow” screen behind it, overlooking the cafe, and leading the eye up and round the space. The two works “embrace” the central cafe area.

“On the Wing”

claudia.phipps — Fri, 26 Aug 2011 15:54:26 +0000

“On the Wing” is a new installation for a client in Dorset. The pieces float through a large open area in the atrium area of the house. the glass pieces were developed through looking at seagulls in flight over the sea, and also through looking at groups of birds. Flight has been a central theme in my work for several years. I think it might be about escape and freedom! After my daughter was born, I found my work a form of escape. As well as looking at birds, I wanted to suggest the idea of angels. I also looked at insect wings, specifically dragonfly wings and Lacewing flies. I wanted the glass to look other-worldly.

I used the technique of waterjet cutting the glass to create holes in the pieces. By using a computer to draw, shapes can be exactly reproduced. It is interesting to combine this technique with hand drawn imagery.

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.

Glass for the Serenity Spa at Seaham Hall. 2002.

claudia.phipps — Thu, 16 Dec 2010 16:40:04 +0000

The series of six installations in the windows for the entrance for the Serenity Spa at Seaham Hall were produced following my graduation in 2001. The pieces are based on my degree show work, which was created by pulling glass cane from the furnace, and then kiln-forming them to fuse the rods together. The resulting pieces were delicate and fragile. They caught the light and defined the space with their drawn like qualities.

Chandelier for Pizza Express St. Pauls. 2007.

claudia.phipps — Thu, 16 Dec 2010 10:15:01 +0000

The Chandelier for Pizza Express was developed as a recycled project. I used broken bottles, and wrapped copper wires around the pieces, before creating long strings of them connected by more wires. It took an object that was de-valued, and gave it a new use, and a new aesthetic.

Chandelier sculpture for Pizza Express, St. Pauls, London.

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.

Forest

claudia.phipps — Sun, 12 Nov 2006 12:58:51 +0000

“Forest” Rothbury Community Hospital. 2006.

Forest is a suspended sculptural installation in a corridor or Rothbury Community Hospital. It makes use of the natural light coming through the rooflights. The reflective coating on the glass, and the sandblasted imagery cast light around the corridor enlivening the space. The imagery is taken from close up images of different trees, creating dappled light to bring nature into the building.