About

About Elizabeth's process

Inspired by Nature

Elizabeth Welch, glass artist, infuses her creations with stunning realism. Drawing inspiration from the natural world, she continually seeks to capture the ephemeral beauty of nature in every piece she makes. Her chosen medium, Borosilicate Flameworking, enables her to explore various techniques and pay homage to the wonders of the natural realm.

Each of her glass sculptures is meticulously handcrafted using solid borosilicate glass. She shapes them over an oxygen and propane torch, ensuring precision and attention to detail. To enhance their strength and durability, she anneals each piece in a digitally controlled kiln.

Elizabeth with Long Tailed Tit

The Studio

Located just outside Pulborough, the Studio offers a variety of services. There is a standard range of products available as well as bespoke work that can be commissioned.

Additionally, Elizabeth offers one-on-one tuition and workshops for up to 3 people.

EW Maker Mark

The Journey Through Craft disciplines

Elizabeth’s artistic journey led her through various craft disciplines. While specialising in Ceramics during her studies at Wimbledon School of Art for her Foundation Diploma in Art and Design, she discovered her true passion in the hot glass workshop. There, she explored creating internal spaces within glass.

Following this, Elizabeth pursued further education by studying Ceramics with Glass BA (Hons) at Bucks New University. At Bournemouth and Poole College, she completed the Hot Glass Techniques course, continuing her exploration of internal forms and incorporating transparent colours.

Techniques

During this period, Elizabeth felt compelled to explore alternative techniques for working with hot glass. Having previously crafted beads, she set up a small oxy-propane torch in the workshop to experiment with this method. However, she soon realized that it limited her creative capabilities due to the material’s volatile and delicate nature, which didn’t align with her design vision.

Elizabeth discovered Borosilicate glass—a material that resonated with her almost immediately. While creating basic component pieces for another maker using clear glass, she ventured into experimenting with coloured ‘boro’ glass for her own work. The funding and business support from the Princes Trust enabled her to explore this exciting avenue.

Corning Museum of Glass

In 2016, while at the Corning Museum of Glass in New York, renowned glass artist and colourist Suellen Fowler taught Elizabeth how to mix colours and apply coloured canes correctly. This newfound knowledge allowed her to achieve a clarity in glass that had previously eluded her.

Elizabeth’s journey in glassmaking continues as she learns from renowned artisans during Masterclasses in both soft glass and borosilicate techniques. Most recently, she has had the privilege of taking classes with Joy Munshower, Kit Paulson and Sibelle Yuksek.