Artist Profile - Nicola Hopwood

Nicola lives and works near Hay-on-Wye, on the Welsh border, using English handmade glass to create windows for churches, hospitals, libraries, a ruined castle and many private houses. Her heart, daily experience and inspiration are rooted in the countryside. The colours, shapes, textures and light which find their way into designs and windows arise from what surrounds her.

“I have three raw materials: mouthblown coloured glass with all its character, depth and sparkle; lead, a heavy, strong yet tactile material which shapes, defines and energies a composition and daylight, with all its subtlety and changes of mood.”

When working on commission, Nicola is concerned with the style and function of a building, the thoughts and feelings of those who use it and with the context of the window: memorial, celebration, corporate vision...... and so on. At the same time, there must be space for her own style, symbols and influences. She enjoys the challenge of bringing together all these Stimuli, in order to arrive at a meaningful end result.

Pieces created without a formal brief, autonomous panels, give Nicola the chance to experiment and explore , to produce work which is a completely personal reaction to what is seen and felt. She is involved with a project called Trackways to Remember, in which a small group of artists, archaeologists and a story-teller are responding to the landscape, history and sound of the local area. This is a welcome opportunity to explore a place which is familiar but always surprising, to reflect her own liking for maps and contours and the things seen and found on daily walks. Seeing the area through the eyes of the others in the group is also stimulating and great fun. The work on show at Shieldbrook is part of this ongoing exploration.

Contact Info

tel: 01497 820177