The next in my Eye on the Artist series focused on glass engraver Tracey Sheppard.
A love of plants and gardening is a major influence on Tracey’s work. She is fascinated by the play of light across the surface of glass and the way the character of her work changes with the weather. She welcomes the opportunities offered by variety of scale, from the minute modelling of a perfume bottle to the physical demands and the challenge of design presented by a pair of church doors. She also enjoys indulging her own slightly idiosyncratic sense of humour!
Tracey has engraved doors, windows and panels for churches and cathedrals. Other commissions include work for the Colleges of Ampleforth, Eton and Winchester, the BBC, Chelsea Physic Garden, Hampshire County Council and the Dean and Chapter of Winchester. Her work has been presented to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, the Duchess of Gloucester and the Sultan of Oman. Recently the Historic Royal Palaces commissioned a piece to present to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II at a ceremony to mark the Tower Hill Improvement Scheme. Tracey is a past chairman of The Guild of Glass Engravers and was elected Honorary Vice President of the Guild in 2005. In 2022 she was Master of The Art Workers’ Guild.
Nothing is so beautiful … (Orrefors bowl, drill engraved, 6h x 30w x 30d cms)
Available at RBC
“I am passionate about drawing and enthralled by the illusive, reflective, illusionary quality of glass. Working with glass I can indulge my love of drawing inspired by the natural world, closely observing and capturing the fine detail and structure of botanical subjects. The textural variety and challenge of perspective in architecture is another rich vein of inspiration”.