RUTH SHELLEY
FFYNHONNELL/SOURCE COLLECTION
CONTEMPORARY STUDIO GLASS
8th June - 28th July 2024
Ffynhonell/Source Collection
Ruth Shelley’s glass is vivid, colourful and dramatic. She is an award-winning glass artist who has been working with coloured glass for over 25 years. Her main interest is colour, especially how it is affected by shape, form and pattern. She is especially interested in the control of flow of glass when heated and the reflection and refraction of light as it hits a glass object.
Ten Green Bottles sitting……
Ruth has a keen interest in pushing the limits of glass and after acquiring a new deep kiln, started exploring the possibilities of stretching glass by gravity in a kiln beyond normal practise. The use of gravity in stretching glass adds a dynamic element to the art form resulting in captivating shaped pieces. Ruth has mastered the technique and has won prestigious awards for her vessels.
Throughout the Covid panedmic 'lockdown' Ruth experimented using donated waste horticultural glass to elongate the glass; accurately recording various thicknesses, sizes, heights and temperatures to shape vessels.
Some of the results can be seen in the collection ‘Ten Green Bottles sitting….’.
The Ffynhonnell/Source Water Feature
This is a project which started over two and a half years ago. Ruth had a vision of creating a Water Feature completely out of glass and started exploring this possibility. Using her expert knowledge of shaping vessels by gravity, she started working out the shapes and sizes needed to execute her vision. Whilst most Water Features use an external design to recycle the water, Ruth designed a way of incorporating the movement of water within the sculpture. It has been a project fraught with problems, but time after time Ruth persevered and is now very close to the finish line. But, as Ruth says, 'it is still a work in progress until that line is crossed!'
Initially working in float glass, Ruth then progressed to using coloured glass. The colours for the Water Sculpture 'spoke to her' unexpectantly from Gwenfrewi Community Garden in Aberystwyth, Mid Wales where Ruth grew up. The colours of the Echinacea, Chrysanthemum Florist’s Daisy and the Tussock Bellflower plants stood out. She returned to her studio and started to experiment with layering coloured glass to represent her vision and is very happy with her choices.
Ffynhonnell/Source Vessels
Ruth progressed to create an accompanying collection of vessels which could be displayed alongside or independently of her water feature. She has always been interested in interpreting colours found in nature and translating it into finished vessels through patterns; layering colours which are only revealed when gravity is applied to stretch the glass. Controlling the flow of glass through gravity when it is heated in the kiln is a complex combination of science, detailed record keeping, both visual and written and an experimental mind. She then cuts and releases the rims before starting the coldwork process where she grinds, sandblasts, and polishes the glass to from the finished vessels.
Ruth Shelley’s glass is vivid, colourful and dramatic. She is an award-winning glass artist who has been working with coloured glass for over 25 years. Her main interest is colour, especially how it is affected by shape, form and pattern. She is especially interested in the control of flow of glass when heated and the reflection and refraction of light as it hits a glass object.
Ten Green Bottles sitting……
Ruth has a keen interest in pushing the limits of glass and after acquiring a new deep kiln, started exploring the possibilities of stretching glass by gravity in a kiln beyond normal practise. The use of gravity in stretching glass adds a dynamic element to the art form resulting in captivating shaped pieces. Ruth has mastered the technique and has won prestigious awards for her vessels.
Throughout the Covid panedmic 'lockdown' Ruth experimented using donated waste horticultural glass to elongate the glass; accurately recording various thicknesses, sizes, heights and temperatures to shape vessels.
Some of the results can be seen in the collection ‘Ten Green Bottles sitting….’.
The Ffynhonnell/Source Water Feature
This is a project which started over two and a half years ago. Ruth had a vision of creating a Water Feature completely out of glass and started exploring this possibility. Using her expert knowledge of shaping vessels by gravity, she started working out the shapes and sizes needed to execute her vision. Whilst most Water Features use an external design to recycle the water, Ruth designed a way of incorporating the movement of water within the sculpture. It has been a project fraught with problems, but time after time Ruth persevered and is now very close to the finish line. But, as Ruth says, 'it is still a work in progress until that line is crossed!'
Initially working in float glass, Ruth then progressed to using coloured glass. The colours for the Water Sculpture 'spoke to her' unexpectantly from Gwenfrewi Community Garden in Aberystwyth, Mid Wales where Ruth grew up. The colours of the Echinacea, Chrysanthemum Florist’s Daisy and the Tussock Bellflower plants stood out. She returned to her studio and started to experiment with layering coloured glass to represent her vision and is very happy with her choices.
Ffynhonnell/Source Vessels
Ruth progressed to create an accompanying collection of vessels which could be displayed alongside or independently of her water feature. She has always been interested in interpreting colours found in nature and translating it into finished vessels through patterns; layering colours which are only revealed when gravity is applied to stretch the glass. Controlling the flow of glass through gravity when it is heated in the kiln is a complex combination of science, detailed record keeping, both visual and written and an experimental mind. She then cuts and releases the rims before starting the coldwork process where she grinds, sandblasts, and polishes the glass to from the finished vessels.