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© Simon Mills
© Conor Edgell
© Conor Edgell
© Conor Edgell
© Conor Edgell

Andrea Spencer

  • Glass sculptor
  • Ballintoy, United Kingdom
  • Master Artisan
Andrea Spencer Glass sculptor
© Conor Edgell

Revealing our natural humanity

  • • Andrea left school aged 16 to pursue art
  • • She studied textiles, architectural glass and flameworking
  • • She has exhibited in China, Europe and the United States

It all began as a child creating a skirt with her aunt: peach, long waist tie, influenced by Torville and Dean. Later with a hammer in her hand, Andrea would make wooden boxes to install in trees for wild creatures. Today, as an adult Andrea possesses a vibrant curiosity for nature, beauty and paradox. Along the rugged Antrim Coast, she nourishes a lifelong habit of collecting and studying aspects of nature. In tandem to her studio work, she has been Artist in Residence in a hospital for nearly 20 years. She has witnessed raw, visceral aspects of human life, beauty alongside devastation. Her work expresses an accumulation of these experiences, exploring parallels between the natural world and human existence.

Read the full interview

Works

  • © The Studio David Pauley
  • © Rory Moore
  • © The Studio David Pauley
  • © Simon Mills
Photo: © The Studio David Pauley
Glass piece

This flame worked hollow sculpted glass piece symbolises the transformation of a manmade object in glass that shares a connection with its naturally sourced material. It is a surreal manifestation of the process of artistic creation, which in this case is based upon observation and imitation of nature, whereby an object transcends its status as a mere construction to become a hybrid of a different type of reality.

Length 35 cm
Height 15 cm
Width 20 cm

Photo: © Rory Moore
Mermaid's Purse

This flame worked hollow sculpted piece is based upon Scyliorhinus canicula, commonly known as the mermaid's purse, which is the egg case of the small-spotted catshark and are commonly found washed up on Irish beaches. Andrea finds this form to be a rich source of associations to explore themes of fertility, mortality, mobility and purpose.

Length 20 cm
Depth 4 cm
Width 10 cm

Photo: © The Studio David Pauley
Circulatory

The Circulatory glass sculpture was flame worked and kiln formed. It is part of a series, which is an inquiry into structures found in the natural world that reflect those of the human body. The series comprises objects that contain, expose, isolate and reimagine these structures, and present them in a way that brings attention to fragile and fugitive states of being.

Length 24 cm
Depth 10 cm
Width 15 cm

Photo: © Simon Mills
Hyderangea

Hyderangea was flame worked using reactive glass colours. It is a preparative study for a larger piece, made in response to time spent observing a dissection of a corpse and reflecting on the experience of encountering the human body beyond a living person.

Length 25 cm
Depth 10 cm
Width 15 cm

Enjoy an experience with Andrea Spencer

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