Flora Jamieson

Stained glass maker

©Alice Tatham

©ALICE_TATHAM

©Flora Jamieson

Stained glass inspired by Dorset and joy

Flora has been making glass art in Dorset since 2003
She makes her own designs but is a restorer, too
She uses traditional glass painting, enamelling and silver staining

Flora Jamieson is a Dorset-based stained glass designer, painter and maker. Her studio is an enchanting place. It is a bright space filled with sketches, prints, drawings and, of course, glass. For her, designing glass is personal – she does it for “the joy of making something beautiful, practical and meaningful that will last for hundreds of years.” She is a very versatile artist as well as being a glass restorer, mastering equally well Victorian, Edwardian, Art Nouveau and Art Deco designs. Flora works with both contemporary and old glass and tries to bring the design sensibility and brushmanship of traditional approaches into modernity.

Interview

©Alice Tatham

©Alice Tatham

What is your educational background?: After a degree in media studies, my early career was as a studio administrator, in design and in photography studios. I then studied stained glass at college for a year, followed by an informal apprenticeship in a studio in London.
What are the specific techniques you use?: My restoration work involves painting new pieces to replace damaged originals in old windows and I seek to be as faithful as possible to the painting materials and techniques of the master glass painters of the past. I work with glass, vitreous paints, enamels, silver stain, lead and solder.
How would you define a well made glass object?: Well made starts with good design. Every lead line and colour choice should be thoroughly considered. It should read well, both close up and from a distance. As for the window, it should be structurally sound.
How much of Dorset is in your works?: Living in rural Dorset, I am constantly inspired by the coast and the countryside, the flora and fauna around me, and the changing seasons. I also look to artists and designers whose work brings me joy – particularly the artists of the Arts and Crafts movement.

Flora Jamieson is an expert artisan: she began her career in 1999