2024-25

British Society of Master Glass Painters

Inspired by Morris

One of the highlights of 2024 was making work in response to William Morris for the BSMGP's Inspired by Morris exhibition. I got rather carried away and made four panels, entering the maximum three into the online exhibition — which sat alongside over 100 works by more than 80 glass artists. Two of mine were selected for the touring exhibition, which launched at the International Festival of Glass in Stourbridge in August 2024, before travelling to the Stained Glass Museum in Ely, Rochdale Town Hall, Ripon Cathedral, and finally the Red Cone Glass House in Stourbridge.

Embodied Dreams draws on the rich tradition of tapestry and embroidery designed by Morris and his circle — work that was often made by women, including his daughter May Morris, an eminent artist in her own right.

The two figures carry an allegorical meaning. On the right, inspired by the radiant mythological figure of Helen of Troy, stands Inspiration — the dream. On the left, plainer and quieter, stands Perspiration — the work. It is only together that they are able to bear fruit, and to hold between them the banner carrying Morris's own words:

'My work is the embodiment of dreams'

All works are for sale.

Embodied Dreams

Engraved, painted and enamelled stained glass. Image: Rachel Phillips

In a jewel-like field of Morris-inspired landscape populated with lush flora and fruit-laden trees, personifications of 'Work' and 'Dreams' hold a banner with some of his words 'My work is the embodiment of dreams in one form or another', symbolising the importance of combining thought and action in creativity and life, and the promise of joy to be found when 'faith becomes flesh'

Rachel Phillips 'Fy Môr-forwyn - My Mermaid

Sandblasted, painted, stained and enamelled handmade glass. Image: Dewi Tannatt Lloyd

This piece was inspired by the only repeating pattern designed by William Morris in collaboration with Sir Edward Coley Burne-Jones. Burne-Jones's mermaids were incorporated in Morris's scrolling foliage and flower-heads and although the fabric was never woven, the background pattern became the 'Wreath' wallpaper of 1876 and the mermaid figures were adapted by Burne-Jones for paintings in the 1880's. I was inspired by the original's sketch-like quality, beautiful muted palette and theme to make my own interpretation as a Welsh mermaid, or Môr-forwyn, from local Pembrokeshire coastal waters.

Acanthus Dance

Sandblasted, painted, stained and enamelled handmade glass. Image: Dewi Tannatt Lloyd

The acanthus leaf has wound its way through centuries of art and imagination — a symbol of enduring life, strength, and immortality since the 5th century. For William Morris and his circle it was a favourite motif, lending movement and depth to embroidery, textile, and wallpaper alike. It is a form I return to with pleasure, drawn by the vitality it brings to glass — the way it breathes alongside other foliate shapes in colour, form, and texture. Here, Morris's characteristic repeating pattern is reimagined as an Ouroboros — the ancient image of a serpent consuming its own tail, an emblem of eternity, renewal, and the endless cycle of life. The sinuous rhythm of the acanthus lends itself naturally to this form, turning and returning upon itself in a jewel-like palette of flashed glass, enriched with painting, enamelling, and staining. Pattern becoming symbol. Ornament becoming meaning.