Hednesford artist turn the beauty of glass into stunning pieces
Working with glass is a real privilege for Emma Kirkham who has been captivated by its enchanting qualities for more than 25 years.
From her studio in Hednesford she creates stunning glass jewellery and pet portraits but also dedicates time to passing on her knowledge to help keep the art alive.
“It’s really special to work with a material that not everybody gets the chance to work with. Other arts like watercolours or crochet are more accessible but with glass you really need to know what you’re doing to get a result from it,” says the 45-year-old.
But Emma doesn’t mind admitting that when she first began experimenting with glass while studying at Stafford College of Art it was a real stab in the dark.
“I ended up smashing up a few glass bottles and fusing them with window pieces into plaster moulds that I had made.
“I didn’t have a clue what I was doing and I didn’t know you couldn’t mix different types of glass together because they have different cooling times and basically try to fight each other. They have a massive fight and you end up with cracks in the glass.
“I didn’t know what I was doing but I loved it anyway and the pieces I ended up with,” says the mother of two.
Her first experience with molten glass was at the University of Sunderland where she studied three dimensional design, glass with ceramics.
After completing her training, Emma began glass blowing and spent 13 years working in a studio in Holland before returning to the UK in 2013.
Back home in Staffordshire she began making kiln formed glass jewellery and running workshops and classes from her studio.
For Emma there is no better material to work with and she believes there is more to glass than people might think.
“I love that you can make something from glass that doesn’t look like glass. I love the transparency and the different reflections you can get from it. It has a multitude of uses and is so versatile. It’s not a solid, it’s a super-cooled liquid. If you look at a piece of glass under a microscope, it’s still moving. It’s a really exciting material to work with,” she tells Weekend. Emma uses glass powders, granules, chips and eggshell glass as part of her work which all have different qualities.
“Glass blowers will blow a huge bubble that’s so thin it’s the thickness of egg. The powder is as thin as talcum powder and is great for doing fine details.
“The granules are the thickness of sugar granules and the chips are little drops of glass. The thickness of the glass I use will depend on what textures I want to achieve on the finished piece.
“They all come in a multitude of colours from black to bright orange. There are also powders known as strikers which appear white at first but the colour comes out when it’s fired so you have to be careful not to get those mixed up,” she explains.
Making her range of jewellery allows her creative juices to flow and she enjoys producing bespoke items for individuals or letting her imagination run free.
More recently Emma has begun creating pet ‘pawtraits’ in glass inspired by her rescue dog and working cocker spaniel Reggie. These are fused glass layered pictures which can also incorporate a lost pet’s ashes. From a photo, she creates an image of the animal with ink.
Emma then uses a glassline pen to recreate each individual line of the ink drawing before leaving it to dry and following with the first firing of the glass at 810c. Using a variety of glass powders, glass chips and eggshell glass, she begins to create the colour within the image and add the detail.
The glass is then taken to the kiln again and re-fired at a slightly lower temperature to fuse the colour to the final image. Ashes will also be added before the final firing.
“I think it’s something a bit different and a nice way for people to commemorate their pet especially if they’ve passed.
“I lot of people don’t want to have their ashes in a box on the side, they want something that reminds them of their pet and this way they are captured in glass forever.
“I really enjoy talking to people about their pets and hearing their stories,” explains Emma.
Emma runs workshops offering people the chance to create an image in glass using coloured glass and powders, metals such as copper and aluminium and various glass paints and also gives talks on glassblowing and fusing.
“I’m really passionate about what I do and I enjoy talking to people about how I started with glass and the history of glassmaking in Cannock Chase.”
There used to be a lot of glassmakers on Cannock Chase but they moved to Stourbridge. If they hadn’t instead of Cannock being know for its mining, it might have been known for its glassmaking.
“There aren’t many glassmakers left now so it’s really special to be one of them. At my workshops I enjoy bringing out people’s creativity.
“I think sometimes people can underestimate how good being creative is for the soul and the mind. We’re all so busy doing a thousand and one things that sitting down and focusing on just one thing to make something for ourselves or to give to somebody else can be really positive for us,” she tells Weekend.
Emma is running workshops at her Hednesford studio on March 27, March 28, April 24, April 25, May 16 and May 25. For more information see emmakirkhamglass.com
