IRENE
I was born in London and studied to be a teacher of French. Eventually I moved to Wales and spent the rest of my career as Head of Modern Languages in a large comprehensive school. I was interested in art and after retiring from teaching, took an evening class in sculpture and then studied for the HNC in Architectural Glass. This led to undertaking a part-time degree at Swansea College of Art, graduating in 2018 with First Class Honours in Glass - Architectural Arts.

The study and making of glass has given me new energy and a fresh outlook - I very  much enjoy the creation of a unique object from the initial concept, through research and design to making.

I have a small home studio where I can carry out most processes from cutting and fusing to painting and leading with some casting, gilding and sandblasting. For bigger projects I have been able to use the university facilities and have been doing screen printing and enamelling there.

For the past three years I have had a stream of visitors to the Open Studios event organised by local artists in the Tywi Valley near Llandeilo. In July this year I'm looking forward to meeting more people and sharing the processes of glass making with them.