Leigh Sladen

Leighs studio is based in The Forest of Dean and is surrounded by gardens, vineyard, ancient topiary, orchards , a wild flower meadow and with views of Churcham Church in the distance.

This sense of calm and being surrounded by nature is continuously reflected in her work.

 

Leigh spends many months of the year in The Isles of Scilly with family and the islands continue to be what inspires most of her work. The islands captured her heart and she has been returning to them for thirty years. Leigh finds the sense of peace, tranquillity of drifting or floating of being immersed in the natural beauty at every turn is almost spiritual in its intensity.

 

Her work explores many of these emotions in the colours of glass that she works with, with the glass that has gentle wisps like a silent breath or a drift of a wave or cloud.

 

She explores the textures and reflections on the sea. As glass allows sunlight to pass through it becomes an ever changing medium like the surface of the sea. She has developed engraving into the glass after firing in the kiln to add birds and plants into her work which adds delicate, subtle detail.

 

In some of her pieces she creates bubbles and traps copper birds or copper wire between two layers of glass, while adding created inclusions, and frit on a tack fuse to keep the texture. Visitors often feel drawn to run their fingers over this texture which adds to the sensory experience of the work.

 

Leigh studied for two years with Caroline Lambert before buying her first kiln and now nearly ten years on it continues to be a joy for her to open the kiln on new work and see how the magic of the kiln has altered the glass.

 

Before working as an artist Leigh was a Forest School Leader taking children into woodland to experience this same wonder of being surrounded by nature to learn to love and value their surroundings. To build dens and create with natural materials.

 

Leigh hopes her work gives you a sense of peace and the feeling that we all need to dream.

 

Leighs work has been exhibited in local Galleries including, Nature in Art, The Malvern Show as a guest of the Cotswold Guild, The Secret Gallery, Tauras Crafts, The Dean Heritage Centre, farOpen Art Trail ,and will be at Take4 Gallery this Summer and of course in Potbouys Gallery in St.Agnes, Isles of Scilly