Susan Kinley – Artist, Glass and Enamels - Open Studios

In her glass and enamel panels Susan Kinley responds to ancient sites across Cornwall, making translucent wall pieces that interact with light.

The glass wall panels in this collection are overlays of places, ideas and experiences, fused together in unexpected ways. Each work tells a visual story of memories, visits to particular wild places and changes across time, with glass wall mounted roundels and ovals evolving from visits to Bronze Age sites in the west of Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly. Kiln formed and waterjet cut, they often trace the growth patterns of lichens on rocks in coastal landscapes exposed to erosion and change. Each kilnformed glass work evolves from many drawings and photographs of a particular place and time, using hand cut stencils to build layers of translucent colour with glass powder and fragmented imagery. Water jet cut piercings through the glass cast shifting patterns of light and shadow when lit from different angles.

Susan Kinley has an established practice as an artist and maker. Her work combines different processes and materials, including glass, metals and enamels, and is informed by visual research at ancient archaeological sites throughout the UK, from the Isles of Scilly to the Orkney archipelago. Her work has been widely exhibited, with awards from Arts Council England, Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation, the David Cantor Memorial Fund, Cultivator Cornwall and Marshwood Applied Arts. She works to commission for individuals and also on public realm installations, with past projects including the British Embassy in Dublin, the Met Office, Exeter, and Penlee House Art Gallery & Museum, Penzance. In 2019 Susan was selected to show a large scale glass wall installation at the prestigious Collect Open, part of the International Art Fair for Modern Craft and Design at Saatchi Gallery.

Open studios 2022 is an opportunity to view her innovative and unique work in her studio, and meet with and talk to the artist. Located in the village of Mylor Bridge, near Penryn, there are beautiful nearby creekside walks.