Rosemary Taylor, "Work of Glass"

Rosemary Taylor, is a designer and creator of exquisite fused glass, contemporary glass art and architectural stained glass. I met Rosemary a few weeks ago at The National Trust village of Lacock, in Wiltshire, where "Cranford" was filmed. She is part of a cooperative of Crafters making a selling their wonderful wares in an enigmatic little shop. I was blown away by Rosemary's glass work and what a lovely and fascinating lady she is.. Rosemary Taylor Her love of glass art goes back a very long way. However it only became serious in 1998 when she was living in Belgium and had the opportunity to attend a course in leaded glass. She was immediately hooked and quickly obtained the basics to set up a work place at home to practice between lessons. After a short while the ball started rolling, friends began to ask her to make things for them, and before she knew it she had a small business going. Having started with lead, she then learned how to use the Tiffany technique, which allows work with very small pieces of glass and to work in 3 dimensions.

Rosemary tells us,"I love to use vibrant colours and many of my designs use themes from the natural world."

After 9 years in Belgium we moved to Cyprus where I made contact with a commercial architect. He loved my work and commissioned me to create some major projects. I was delighted to be given the opportunity, and amongst others, created two wonderful bathroom ceilings for the Hotel Poseidon in Limassol.

These were made in 2 foot square panels in a suspended ceiling, each panel being sandwiched in double glazing with lighting from above. This first experience of having my panels double glazed was valuable, and I have since used this technique in making large windows on stairways and doors.

On my return to England in 2006 Rosemary decided to experiment and bought a kiln. She then went on several courses in glass fusing to develop her technique. This was a whole new field, quite a science, and enabled her to make dishes and plates, jewellery, tiles and much more.

Wisteria window This window is at home and gives me great pleasure. It is 2 storeys high in the stairwell and the panels are enclosed in double glazing with toughened glass to meet building regulations. The inspiration for the work came from a wisteria growing outside the window which has a very short flowering period, so now I can enjoy the flowers all year. It is made in a fusion of Art Nouveau and Tiffany styles, using beautiful mouth blown glass. I have used lead for the main lines, and the tiffany technique for the small flowers and leaves which results in a very light appearance Stained Glass Stained glass can be used as a general term that means these use of coloured or painted glass, cut to make a pattern and then assembled using lead and solder. Strictly speaking the term should only be used when the glass has been painted using metal oxides, silver stain and enamels, which are then fired into the glass to become permanent. The term leaded light can be used when the glass used is already coloured, and no painting is involved. Fish panel approx 40cm diameter. Window hanging panel in watery blues and greens, with irridescent glass used for the fish. To view more of Rosemary's work or to commission a piece. http://www.worksofglass.co.uk/index.html .