THE MAGIC OF THE TREES

11 FEBRUARY - 13 MARCH 2016

Helen Slater is an Oxfordshire glassmaker and artist creating beautiful sculptures of trees and interiors.

Helen has developed a unique practice whereby fired drawings, modelled reliefs and prints are set into glass_. Sgrafitto_ is the scratching of a drawing onto plaster - the dry cast mould - creating channels that she then fills with fine ground glass powder. Sealed with a layer of glass frit, the first layer of this glazing tier is fired in the kiln. Helen’s methodology is labour intensive as she carefully builds her depth of field through three or four layers of glass encasing her subjects.

Each sculpture is hand cast and polished. Helen’s sculptures are arresting, haunted with bubbles and veils cast into the process - they add a sense of physicality to vignettes of memories that are captured in time…. Jenny Blyth

Helen Slater: “My current work looks at how we perceive and remember places and environments specific to us. The fact that we are able to bring associations to these places and settings, which retain a resonance through our lives, is of interest to me. These places reference a narrative that can be read as personal or generic, to which the viewer can bring their own associations.”

Helen Slater : BA Hons. 3D Design: Glass & Ceramics, Sunderland University. MA in Glass and Ceramics, Royal College of Art. Senior Lecturer at Brookes, 3 D Design. Visiting lecturer, De Montfort University, Leicestershire. She is currently studying for a PhD at The Royal College of Art. The artist lives and works from her studio in Kingham, Oxfordshire.