Purser Hope, Susan - Contemporary Glass Society

Region:South West England

Technique:Kiln work

Occupation:Artist, Educator

Discipline:Decorative, Fine art, Public art

Areas of Interest:Education, Exhibition, Workshops

Product:Commission, Design/ Functional/ interiors, Fine Art, Public art, Sculptural, Sculpture, Wall pieces, Windows

Country:United Kingdom

County:Devon

You can buy my work from:
https://www.purserhope.co.uk

Social media Links:
https://www.instagram.com/purserhope
https://www.pinterest.co.uk/purserhope
https://www.facebook.com/purserhope

Susan Purser Hope

I am a contemporary fused glass artist who creates unique, hand crafted artworks. My work features kilnformed, painted, multi-layered forms that hold secrets and stories, creating explosions of potent dynamic colour and shapes. I work with a material that I am passionate about; it has the capacity to play with light, to offer me a range of limitless colours, to provide me with a range of techniques that stretch my imagination and technical skills. With glass I never stop learning. For most of my career, I ran my Midlands based commercial interior design consultancy specialising in designing and fitting out large hotels, offices, hospitals etc. In 2005, I decided to change direction and returned to Wolverhampton University to study glass making and then established my own fused glass studio. I then relocated seven years ago and fulfilled a lifetime's ambition to live by the sea.

My work up until the pandemic concentrated on creating architectural work and on developing community projects, using glass to build self-belief and a feeling of well being within hard to reach communities and groups.

However, living through such a traumatic period makes one reflect on life and what is truly important. After so much fear and grief, I realised that I wanted to create small, beautiful, considered pieces of glass artwork that appealed to the senses and brought a burst of joy to the observer, a visual escape after so much misery.

Consequently, my new work looks back on simple pastimes. My aim was to enhance basic forms such as a stencil or the paper cut-out dolls of my childhood into small wonders of coloured and textured glass with different layers and the application of handmade glass decorative elements.

In my moments of escape to the beach, I have also looked at simple and transitory patterns made by man which then disappear under the oncoming tide. I have looked at the shapes and rationalised them into patterned panels.

For many art means painting and glass art is often unknown. My desire is to insinuate it into people’s consciousness by creating wall hung images that do not immediately look like or are presented like contemporary glasswork usually is. My intention is for people to find my work visually stimulating and then to appreciate the material so that my work is approachable for everyone.