Clare Gaylard Glass
I graduated from Loughborough College of Art and Design with a BA Hons in Silversmithing & Jewellery, followed by a PGCE from Homerton College, Cambridge University. Lived overseas for a decade in Kenya, Thailand and Singapore where I taught, worked for NGO's, curated, raised three children and learned to work with glass.
In 2006 I was taught by Micah Lamar at Hoglund Art Glass in NZ and returned to create home-studios, hold solo exhibitions and artist residencies in Thailand and Singapore. This method of working with hot glass (Lampwork or Flamework) gave immediate and joyful, 3D expression to prior years of creating through drawing, painting and polaroid manipulation.
Returning to Suffolk in 2010 (my art foundation was in Ipswich) I joined Suffolk Open Studios and became a selected member of The Suffolk Craft Society. I have organised and hung exhibitions for the SCS and have managed their social media since 2018. I am on the Crafts Council Directory of Makers. My current studio is a re-purposed barn in Earl Soham, where I create, teach, exhibit and sell my work. I exhibit widely through the year in group and solo shows, find current and upcoming news on my events page.
FAQ
What is Flamework/ Lampwork?
It is the traditional, scaled-down version of glassblowing and is a heritage craft. Glass is melted in an intense flame, wrapped around a steel rod then worked and sculpted while molten. Working with glass is a synthesis of powerful elements: colour, light, fire and a medium that moves rapidly between liquid and solid states.
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, to reduce the chance of stress fractures and strengthen the glass.
How do I take care of my glass?
Glass is simultaneously one of the most fragile and long-lasting of preserved historical artefacts. While I take care to create glass that is as structurally sound as possible, and anneal every element, as a medium it is beautifully AND inherently delicate. Care should be taken to avoid dropping or sharply knocking glass. With sculptural items, avoid forcing or placing too much pressure on extremities. Of course the shape of the object contributes to its sturdiness, the solid sphere of a glass bead will take harder daily wear than a sculptural shape.
Where do you get your inspiration?
As an artist and designer-maker I'm engaged in approaching the universal through the particular. All work and ideas are my own, I assemble all my own work and I do not copy or mass produce.
​I've always created across media, kept sketchbooks, painted and drawn. I have travelled widely, and frequent museums and galleries when I can. I live in an rural and coastal part of Suffolk and elements of the landscape, flora and fauna (large and small) and the effects of the seasons inform my work.