When I was first contacted by Chris Thomond to feature in ‘The Artisans’ for The Guardian online it felt like a dream! Now it has arrived and it is a dream come true. I am writing today to share from the viewpoint of all the wonderful people who have contacted me to share their perspectives on ‘Shining a light on a stained glass artist – in pictures’.
I was thrilled to for The Greek Orthodox Church here in Shrewsbury to share the article on their Facebook page, and speak directly to the way light, dust and other ephemeral elements contribute to my work.
“A wonderful insight into the world of staining glass. Read on and discover more about lead, light, dust and... badgers!” – Greek Orthodox Church of the holy fathers, Shrewsbury
I loved that they mentioned badgers, which correlates to a wonderful picture Chris captured, as my favourite tool is the Badger. It is the brush of the trade, and it is quite magical. It is simply beautiful as a piece. This badge brush pictured below is second-hand and was given to me by someone in France a long time ago. The important thing is the width because when you work on larger pieces you need to brush. When you use it you hardly touch it and just let it balance. You really need to learn how to use it. If you really brushed it, you would push the paint much further but if you really want some even texture of paint you have to hardly touch the glass and balance and feel it without feeling it touch.
“Oh wow, what gorgeous pictures! I can’t wait to read later on the train. Well done Nathalie what an amazing representation of how much you’ve achieved over the past 24 years. I am proud to have come along on some of the journey!” - A dear friend.
This brush reminded me of the person who gifted it to me, and then the message I received from a friend who congratulated me for the long journey I have been on to get to this point in my practice.
These spontaneous moments of connection have not ended, but come in other genuine ways – even on the way back home from my studio, someone has tapped on my shoulder as I was at the traffic lights to tell me that they read the article and were curious to know if it already brought some good feedback and works, I was delighted to let them know about how many people have been in contact and all of the organisations who I have worked with before sharing their well wishes.
I am beyond grateful to Christopher Thomond and The Guardian for working with me to document my craft for people to learn and be inspired by.
You can read the full article below: