Glass artist Clare Gaylard is currently embracing a more instinctive approach to her practice, working with impulse and colour rather than fixed ideas to create intricate glass millefiori. Working in the flame, Clare explores the complex process of building patterned glass cane, where the design runs all the way through the cross-section.
Carefully selected coloured glass rods are stretched, combined, superheated, stretched again, cooled, and then sliced into countless tiny sections. Each cut reveals a perfectly formed motif, a small moment of order drawn from intense heat, focus, and control.
This method is both meditative and absorbing, offering endless variation and surprise. On Clare’s workbench, these miniature components resemble a winter garden in glass, rich with colour, texture, and possibility. It is a slow, layered way of working that rewards patience, curiosity, and close attention.
We are very much looking forward to exhibiting Clare Gaylard’s work at the Suffolk Craft Society in the coming months and to sharing the results of this playful and experimental phase with our visitors. Follow Clare on social media to see videos of this process and discover more about her evolving practice.
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