During this exhibition I'll be displaying 26 years worth of blood, sweat and tears which have culminated in my own very unique style of this art form, you will not have seen ideas like these before. I have designed and created both the larger pieces and my ever growing and very popular gift sized range.
The larger artworks incorporate driftwood and branches to recreate nature and the little pieces range from Apples, Birds and Cacti to a range of Zoo Animals and everything in between.
This year I am joined by Liz Dee of The Silver Workshop who will have a wide and varied selection of handcrafted sterling silver and mixed metal jewellery. You can find her here www.facebook.com/lizdeesilver or www.instagram.com/thesilverworkshop
To see my work visit www.purpleurchin.online
A few words about the journey ......
....it began in 1995 when I took evening classes to learn traditional stained glass work, I studied both leadwork and copper foil (Tiffany) methods and after a couple of years tuition I went off to design and create my own ideas as a hobbyist. I turned professional in 2016, and in September 2017 I moved into my own studio space at home in Thame.
I’ve chosen to work with copper foil as it allows greater freedom to design more intricate pieces which can’t be achieved using traditional leadwork. Each piece of glass is cut by hand, surrounded in copper foil then soldered together. I use coloured sheet and recycled glass, sea glass, marbles, light bulbs and mirror; in fact if it’s made of glass I’ll try using it. I also engrave, etch and tumble glass to alter the surface appearance; finer detailing and dimension is added to my ideas using different gauges of wire and glass beads.
I’ve exhibited during Oxford Artweeks for the past six years and Bucks Artweeks for the past two. I've been a featured artist on local TV and some of my recycled/upcycled work was featured in “Reloved” magazine (March 2018). I sell my work in my Etsy shop and in Thame museum.
The name Purple Urchin stems from my fondness for beach combing, to find a perfectly intact sea urchin shell is a real rarity, and even more so if it’s purple. This kind of natural wonder is where I draw inspiration and more recently my Christian faith has played a big part in influencing my work.