A little blog of appreciation for our beautiful friend and in-store artist Lou.
Not only one of the kindest and most thoughtful souls we have ever met but Lou has to be one of the best to work with glass. Creating towering wooden sculptures with reclaimed timber and vibrant stained glass. She embeds glass in a full spectrum of colour within the totem-style works, which when illuminated, cast kaleidoscopic shadows on their surroundings. “It is all about the light,” she says. “That’s the magic of glass and the magic of all living things.”
Lou is based in Shoreham by Sea and is at her happiest when she is either at her beautiful allotment, full to the brim with flowers or having a little dance in her studio space ahead of working on a new piece.
Lou explains that she utilizes traditional leaded light techniques, along with fusing and slumping—these involve connecting two pieces together and melting the material in a mold, respectively—to create bisected circles and asymmetric stripes. Shen then arranges the translucent elements in gradients and rainbow-like columns and leaves the rugged edges and knots of the repurposed wood visible. “Even having all the colours of glass laid out in front of me on my cutting table is enough to make me feel good, and I think that’s why the work is so popular. Colour makes us feel good,” she shares. “I try not to interfere too much on an intellectual level. The work is definitely not from the head and totally and utterly from my heart.”
Lou is with us as a guest artist this month, we have a small range of Lou's glasswork soap dishes and bowls. Lou is taking commissions at the moment so if you want to get in touch with her drop her a message via her Instagram or just go and look at her beautiful creations.
BIG LOVE Lou xx