Claudia Phipps Architectural Glass » suspended

“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.

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.