ABOUT
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Grace graduated with a BA (Hons) in Fine Art from the University for the Creative Arts (UCA) Canterbury in 2017. Her artworks are influenced by creating visual narratives through still images. During her time studying in Canterbury, she visited the Cathedral and developed a strong interest in the stained glass, the history and the craft as an art form. After graduating in 2017, she started learning stained glass, making her own artworks.​
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In 2018 she gained a 2 month work internship at Chapel Studio, Kings Langley. This is where she was introduced to the conservation and restoration of stained glass and gave her the opportunity to develop further, her practical skills of the craft. Following this, she was employed at Reading Stained Glass repairing and creating domestic stained glass windows. During this time, she became very passionate about combining her artistic skills with her care for heritage and historic art.
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​In 2020, Grace enrolled in the MA in Stained Glass Conservation and Heritage Management at the University of York. During her time studying, she spent 3 months conserving the stained glass collection at Highcliffe Castle, Dorset. The collection encompasses pieces from across Europe dating from c1400- 1840. In 2022, she undertook research for her dissertation in the recovery, documentation and restoration of stained glass lost painted detail, through the use of digital enhancement techniques. Her research was tested on stained glass from the collection at Highcliffe Castle and looked at the potential use of screen printing in the restoration of lost painted detail.
Since finishing her Masters degree in 2022, she joined the York Glaziers Trust as a conservator and has worked on conserving stained glass from York Minster, Great Malvern Priory, Merton College (Oxford) and North Moreton. Her specialist areas involve conservation and restorative glass painting. The latter, she has created restorations for lost areas on the St. Cuthbert window of York Minster and window s2 from North Moreton.
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​"Being a conservator of historical stained glass has to be one of my greatest achievements and the work I am most passionate about. Being able to care for this craft, to see up-close details created by the most skilled of craftspeople right back to the middle ages and being a part of its existence into the future is the most rewarding work that I am proud to be a part of".
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Along side her work as a conservator, Grace makes traditional and contemporary stained glass artworks. Natural forms, art nouveau and Japanese art often influence her designs.
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"What I try to capture in my stained glass creations, is the ethereal nature that stained glass intrinsically has. The beautiful contrasts within the materials, in terms of the transmitting and obstructing of light. It is important to me that the lead is not only used for its structural stability, but is to be used as an integral part of it existing as a work of art. In my work, the design of the lead matrix is to evoke a sense of fluidity within the piece and symbolises its very structure; malleable but at the same time, incredibly strong! I like to use varying types of glass, as the light transmitting through the different colours and textures creates subtle but fascinating effects".
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