Pandy Mill Glass Studio
Adjoining the gallery is the glass studio where Jan designs and creates her stained glasswork. Jan is working in her studio most days of the week. You are welcome to make an appointment any time if you are interested in seeing Jan's glass work or talking about commissioning a special piece. You will be able to see how Jan creates the two different styles of glass art - stained glass and glass fusion. If you are there at the right time you might see the fused glass as it emerges from the kiln!
Jan
Singleton
Jan
is a glass artist and designer
specialising in unique stained glass
windows to commission and fused glass panels for both display and use, and
larger scale architectural pieces that form an integral part of a building or
garden.
She
has been studying art in one form or another since 1974 –‘ a love of art,
once it is in you, never leaves you’. Learning is an ongoing process.
4
years study at Manchester School Of Art resulted in a B.A. Hons. Degree in
Graphic Design
Living in The
In
1992 Jan started to explore
the world of glass fusion when studying under Volker Stagge at KSO-GOBI in
Having
returned to the
Pandy
Mill, Pandy, Ceiriog Valley, Llangollen LL20 7NT
"Jan produces works of art in glass that combine both inherent beauty in their own right as well as elegance in their technical solution of an interior or exterior design requirement".
Please contact: singleton@pandymillgallery.com if you require more information.
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Glass Art Information
I employ two main techniques to produce my art work:
Cold Glass - Stained Glass ('glass-in-copper'/'Tiffany' technique)
This is so called after the American artist Louis Comfort Tiffany, who introduced this technique at the turn of the 20th century. Similar to the ‘glass-in-lead’ technique you see in churches, but instead of lead around the glass edge, there is copper foil and solder. So, in effect it is ‘glass-in-copper' .The copper and solder line can make the panel stronger and certainly allows you to be more detailed, working with smaller pieces.
With a modern design, this technique can look fantastic. I design in an abstract form and each commission is unique.
The glass itself comes in a wealth of colours and a wide variety of textures, both opaque and transparent. There is an amazing selection available, much of it beautifully creative in its own right, and I very much enjoy the search for 'the right piece'. The glass I use is made in either Germany or America. I like to use a mixture of opaque and transparent, depending on how much light there is. If the light is limited, for instance, an edge lit LED panel can be used behind the glass.
Hot Glass - Fusion Technique
My second technique is working with hot glass called glass fusion. Glass layers fuse in a kiln reaching temperatures of 850 degrees Celsius. I can make my own unique glass panels by adding coloured crushed glass and other interesting materials between the fused layers. Glass fused panels are strong and heavy, suitable for architectural purposes in big projects.
I enjoy making glass fused panels for a wall. Just as you would hang a painting, why not hang a glass panel?
When working with a kiln you have to follow strict technical rules. Learning the way the oven temperatures will affect the glass and colour is both fascinating and frustrating. You may only fuse glass pieces that are compatible with each other. It is not possible to mix different glasses together due to their different rates of expansion. If you do, it will crack in the firing process. The firing process is quite long and has to be programmed carefully. Too quick an ascent of temperature or indeed descent, will result in anything from a tiny crack in your work to a massive explosion in your oven, neither of which is desirable ! When a creation is very big or thick in diameter, it has been known for them to be fired in a very slow oven for anything up to 8 weeks!! Although this technique sounds very technical, I like to think I have a large artistic element to play as well. For example they can be used in many different but interesting ways. It would be lovely to build a wall in a public building with an idea such as these 'gothic cross' panels below. I envisage many different panels, not necessarily of the same size, with different points of interest but sticking to the theme. Each panel would be somehow linked to the cross:
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The panels could be supported in any number of ways – bricks, cement or within an artistic steel structure. These glass panels can “kill two birds with one stone”. By that I mean you can create the required dividing wall but also have a piece of art work at the same time – FUNCTIONAL ART !