Clare Gaylard Artisan Glass 

Lampwork Glass, Jewellery and Wearable Art, created by me: Clare Gaylard in my Suffolk studio.

'There is no excellent beauty that hath not some strangeness in the proportion' Francis Bacon


I followed up a BA Hons in Silversmithing & Jewellery with a PGCE from Homerton College, Cambridge and taught art at secondary school in outer London.


From 1999 to 2009 we lived abroad in Kenya, Thailand and Singapore. In 2006 I went from Bangkok to Hoglund Glass in NZ to learn how to melt glass (with Micah Lamar) and it rapidly became an obsession. I developed my knowledge and understanding of glass, had home-studios and solo (and shared) exhibitions in Thailand and Singapore. 


I've been curator for an art gallery in Bangkok, Artist-in-Residence at The Glass Studio in Singapore, taught workshops, worked for and led creative/heritage NGOs while living in Africa and Asia. We returned to the UK in 2009 with three children born in three different continents. I went on from my third home-studio to set up a workshop with torch stations, space to show my work and teach in a re-purposed barn in Suffolk.


I've always made the time to sketch, paint, photograph and create with whatever materials or opportunities are on hand. I'm highly responsive, visual and naturally curious: nature, artefacts, concepts, fine-art, illustration, storytelling, ornament, design, literature, history and popular culture fascinate me. 

FAQ

What is Flamework / Lampwork?

Glass in the form of a rod, is melted in an intense flame and either worked free-form or wrapped around a metal rod and worked directly in the flame. The glass I use most frequently is still made on the Venetian island of Murano. 

Working with glass is a synthesis of powerful elements: colour, light, fire and a medium that moves rapidly between liquid and solid states. 

What does it mean to be a 'Self Representing Artist'?

I am an artist, designer-maker, designing, creating and assembling all my flamework glass sculptures, totems and jewellery entirely myself from my own original research, paintings and sketches and have done so since my first solo exhibition of combined media in 2006. 


As an artist and maker I'm engaged in approaching the universal through the particular. I do not copy or mass produce.


The glass and the processes I use are of a quality chosen to extend the lifespan  and beauty of my work. I kiln anneal and hand clean all my glass. Annealing soaks the glass at 960 degrees then cools it gradually over ten hours, reducing the chance of stress fractures and strengthening the glass.

Where can I find your work?

I am a member of Suffolk Open Studios  and open my studio during June.


I am a member of The Suffolk Craft Society and participate in exhibitions.


Visits to my studio can be made by appointment. I have work in progress, for sale and I work to commission.


You will find  a range of my glass at Great Walsingham Gallery

 

I take part in exhibitions throughout the year, details of upcoming exhibitions can be found here.


I am a member of 

Suffolk Open Studios



I am a member of the Suffolk Craft Society

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