I am a multidisciplinary artist. I paint, draw, sculpt, and design glasswork to commission. My introduction to working with stained glass was quite unplanned. After leaving University in the ‘80s, I had taught myself calligraphy, and gone onto teach Further Education evening classes. I was busy doing graphic art, designing and creating artwork for projects in the dioceses of Durham, Newcastle and Oxford. I had commissions to create Memorial books, and to design and create liturgical text and had co-worked with an author to design and produce calligraphy for a published book. Then an opportunity arose to undertake a commission in glass for a project at the Littlemore Hospital in partnership with The King’s Fund. I had never worked with glass before, but it was a wonderful challenge and an opportunity not to be missed.
I was then invited to undertake further commissions with the Oxford NHS Trust: both a window in the main corridor of the Warneford Hospital, and floor-to-ceiling window in The Sanctuary at the Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre. This window is included in the recently published book The Stained Glass and Chapels of Oxford by Dominic Price.
In my architectural glass, I like to evoke a sense of place, a visual interpretation of the comings and goings within the setting in which the window is set, to enhance and to inspire. How wonderful it is to be told that my glass designs are a comfort in times of sadness; a focus of inspiration and a sense of uplifting joy.
My drawing style is very linear. The flowing and circular lines in my work depict energy and movement which is counter balanced by more rigid geometric patterns. This adapts well to the medium of stained glass. I use colour to express mood and feeling, both complementary colours, bright and loud, and some more muted. I’m inspired by images and metaphors in poetry. For me Art is a visual poem, a story with endless interpretations to inspire and be inspired by.
I have outgrown my studio at home and have just acquired a studio in Abingdon at The Charter with Makespace Oxford. Here I will have space to store glass, focus on my glasswork, and to share my enthusiasm for the arts with others through mini-exhibitions and various community projects.
See me at work at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ioWE9SKOAaY
Instagram: @kaygibbons_art.glass.sculpture
