Despite some initial technical difficulties, we were given a most informative talk by glass artist Vicky Wilkinson who is based in Lincolnshire. She gave us a brief history of her ‘roots’ beginning as a mature student studying contemporary decorative crafts at university before following a career path as a member of an art ‘collective’, then as a glass teacher at Grantham College and now specialising in kiln fused glass which she ‘makes’ in her own studio where she not only produces lovely items to sell, but also holds workshops.
She went on to explain the different characteristics of glass and noted that she initially combines layers of hand rolled glass which she then heats it up in a furnace to 1200 degrees; this then becomes ‘hot glass’ or liquid which she mixes with colours and then forms into a variety of amazing items that capture intersections of colours with subtle highlights and shadows between the layers.
Once the technical difficulties had been solved (by the super capable U3A IT boys), Vicky’s slideshow ably visually presented not only her products but also the varying processes that she uses in the manufacture of her glass jewellery, light sculptures, platters and more. Included in her presentation was an extremely interesting video made by Bullseye, a glass manufacturing company based in Oregon, USA which in 1981 cracked the code of how to produce a spectrum of glasses that could be fused together. This fusible glass better known now as kiln glass opened the door for a completely new kind of glass craft and is one which Vicky has embraced very successfully.
Vicky was very keen to admit that she is greatly inspired by the different landscapes and vibrant and subtle colours and textures of nature she sees around her on a daily basis, as well as those from further afield and, it is these which stimulate her crafting juicing into producing the variety of artefacts she makes every day. Fortunately for our audience today, she had brought along a great selection of her products for sale or to just wonder at. As she said, every day is different, and she is obviously thriving on it, so we wish her every success in her new work base in Caythorpe.
A review by Nadia Dawson
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