Dancing colours
- Veerle uses contemporary shapes and bright colours
- Dance performances are a source of inspiration
- She seeks to breathe new life into a traditional craft
After 15 years as a stained glass maker, Veerle Verschooren decided to focus more on the contemporary design world and adjusted her style. Her new designs incoporate bright colours, more patterned glass and Tiffany glass. For inspiration, Verschooren often looks to artists in other domains, like painters and sculptors. She examines the way they combine materials and shapes, and replicates this with stained glass. “I also learn a lot from dance performances, a big passion of mine. It’s so inspiring to observe the way dancers move on stage.” Stained glass design is a craft that has existed since the Medieval Age, but Verschooren is not afraid to give it a modern update. “I am, for example, happy to use a waterjet machine once in a while,” she smiles.
Interview
- What was the first work you made?
- I finished my first official work in 2000, a stained glass window for an office building in Brussels. To be honest, it took until 2014 before I made a stained glass window that I was fully satisfied with – concerning the design, that is.
- What is a memorable moment in your professional life?
- It was very interesting to lead a social-artistic project with people from a disadvantaged background or with a disability. For a whole year, I helped them to be creative, and they all went home afterwards with a stained glass window.
- What is less known about your work?
- Contrary to what some people think, I do not spend all my days practising stained glass. I also have to devote time to find clients, projects, and publicity. It takes a lot of effort to do what you are passionate about and also pay the bills.
- What is your advice to an aspiring stained glass maker?
- I have an 18 year old son who is starting his own art education and I advise him to be patient, take his time to explore his craft, but also to immediately look for the right people to learn the right techniques.
Veerle Verschooren is a master artisan: she began her career in 2000 and she started teaching in 2016
Where
Veerle Verschooren
