Yesterday, 23rd June, I passed the final hurdle and have now qualified as a Master of Philosophy from The Royal College of Art, London. This was a 2-year research degree and the subject was, Glass, Gold and the Image. It will be possible to gain access to my thesis in due course, from the college. YEH.
Having some distance from the work I did at that time, I can now see more clearly the most important achievements of this research. I will briefly set them out here, as it is worth noting.
I was for many years concerned with gilding on flat glass but moved into working on blown glass about 6 years ago. The research allowed me to examine the following: how to protect cold gilding on glass; how layering of glass and imagery would work and how best to combine form with decoration, bearing in mind the need for protection.
The ground I covered in this research was new: I have not found any other person working with these particular issues, and the field was wide open.
I found out how to decorate both surfaces of the glass with engraved gilding and how to use the space between to create depth. I learned about the reflective surface and how to work with that to create whatever kind of world interested me. There is a lot more of course but these are the main points.
The steep learning curve is leading to new work that I could not have hoped to make without the support of the RCA and my time there.
Off to Poland for a few weeks in a couple of days, and back on the scene end of July.
I would love to hear back from anyone who might read this.... comments?
Have a wonderful summer! f
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