Behind the Glass: The story of Fusion Art Glasswork

There’s something quite magical about glass. The way it catches the light, the depth of colour and the fact that you never know quite what will happen when you open the kiln are all part of what made me fall in love with fused glass.

From my studio on Hayling Island in Hampshire, I create handmade fused glass art inspired largely by the coast, countryside and natural world around me. Waves, seascapes, beach huts, flowers, woodland scenes and marine life regularly find their way into my work - although I’m always experimenting with new ideas and techniques.

From an idea to a finished piece

Every piece starts with an idea. Sometimes that comes from a photograph, somewhere I’ve visited, a particular combination of colours or simply something I want to try in glass.

Unlike painting, working with glass means thinking about how individual pieces, frits, powders and other forms of glass will behave when they’re heated in the kiln. Colours can change, layers melt together and textures soften and move. That unpredictability is part of the appeal.

I cut and assemble each piece by hand in my studio before it goes into the kiln, where temperatures can reach around 810°C. Depending on the piece, it may then need further firings to shape or finish it.

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Opening the kiln the following morning is still one of my favourite parts of the process!

Inspired by the coast

Living and working on Hayling Island means I’m surrounded by coastal inspiration.

The sea features heavily in my work, particularly my fused glass waves and seascapes. I love trying to capture the movement of water in glass – the translucent blues and greens, white breaking waves, sandy beaches and tiny details that give each piece its character.

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Because everything is handmade, no two pieces can ever be exactly the same. Even when I’m creating a design I’ve made before, there will always be subtle differences in the glass and in the way it behaves in the kiln.

I think that’s one of the loveliest things about owning something handmade.

Sharing my love of glass

As well as creating my own work, I run small fused glass workshops from my studio.

I deliberately keep the groups tiny, usually just two or three people. It makes the experience relaxed and means I can spend plenty of time helping everyone with their individual piece.

You don’t need any previous experience - in fact, many of the people who come to my workshops have never cut a piece of glass before.

Seeing someone arrive convinced that they’re “not creative” and then watching them leave excited about what they’ve made is incredibly rewarding.

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Creating something personal

Some of my favourite pieces to make are commissions.

Glass lends itself beautifully to interpreting a special landscape, favourite view or meaningful place. I don’t try to reproduce a photograph exactly - glass has its own character – but instead use the colours, shapes and atmosphere of the scene to create my interpretation of it.

I also create memorial glass art incorporating a small amount of a loved one’s or pet’s ashes. These are very personal pieces and can take many different forms, from waves and beach scenes to hearts and other glass keepsakes.

It’s a privilege to create something that carries so much meaning for its owner.

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And there’s always something new…

One of the things I love most about fused glass is that there’s always another technique to discover or an idea I want to experiment with.

Some work goes exactly as planned. Some doesn’t! And occasionally something unexpected comes out of the kiln that leads to an entirely new idea.

That’s all part of working with glass.

Through this blog I’ll be sharing more about what happens behind the scenes in my studio, new pieces I’m working on, the techniques I use, workshops, commissions and probably a few experiments along the way.

I hope you’ll enjoy seeing a little more of the story behind the glass.

Amanda x

Fusion Art Glasswork

Hayling Island, Hampshire