Andrea Spencer

Glass sculptor

©Simon Mills

©Conor Edgell

Revealing our natural humanity

Andrea left school aged 16 to pursue art
She studied textiles, architectural glass and flameworking
She has exhibited in China, Europe and the United States

It all began as a child creating a skirt with her aunt: peach, long waist tie, influenced by Torville and Dean. Later with a hammer in her hand, Andrea would make wooden boxes to install in trees for wild creatures. Today, as an adult Andrea possesses a vibrant curiosity for nature, beauty and paradox. Along the rugged Antrim Coast, she nourishes a lifelong habit of collecting and studying aspects of nature. In tandem to her studio work, she has been Artist in Residence in a hospital for nearly 20 years. She has witnessed raw, visceral aspects of human life, beauty alongside devastation. Her work expresses an accumulation of these experiences, exploring parallels between the natural world and human existence.

Interview

©Conor Edgell

©Simon Mills

Do you remember your first encounter with glass?: A church near where I grew up had windows that were unencompassed by the usual lead lines; made of pure colour. I got hold of two coloured sheets of glass and put them in a kiln. The results were disastrous! But I was fascinated and had to find out more.
How do you start creating one of your pieces?: In my workshop, natural and manmade creations, drawings, and texts intertwine and layer up over time, forming dialogues. This process of collecting and curating develops temporary installations and isolated objects, creating environments or an atmosphere.
What is special about the material you choose to work with?: I work primarily with glass for its fluidity, transparency and association with fragility. In installations I often use the limitations of glass to emphasis a concept. Incorporating mixed media reinforces an idea and elevates the properties of the glass.
What feeds your creativity?: Immersive experiences in the natural world sustain me. Being in water, standing on the edge of a precipice or feeling surrounded by wind. Bathing in changing light, as day transitions to dusk, has an effect on me that floods into the core of my well-being.

Andrea Spencer is a master artisan: she began her career in 1990 and she started teaching in 2010