Largely self-taught, Jenny has been living and working in the West Allen for over 30 years. The local wildlife and landscape has been a large influence in many of her windows, capturing the beauty of curlews, owls and pheasants amongst other things.
She enjoys working with hand blown glass. The texture and unique patterns that aren't found in machine rolled glass add character and a subtle beauty to many of her windows. She often uses the streaks and bubbles as water or currents in the air.
There are many broken pieces of antique bottles that she has found locally, which she uses in her works to catch the light and add a sense of ancient mystery. She has made one window comprising of almost all old bottle bottoms and pieces. She is inspired by medieval stained glass, where pieces of old broken window were reused and leaded into borders or panels in new windows. She also uses sea and river washed glass and slices of agate crystal.
She uses traditional techniques to paint on glass: it is like painting with light to bring the subject to life. The highlights are removed, unlike normal painting where the shadows are darkened. As in medieval glass she uses silver stains to create yellow and amber hues. This is all fired onto the glass in a kiln and sometimes pieces will take up to 4 firings to achieve the effect wanted. She also uses enamels to get a variety of colours, although she does not like the opacity of these compared to the silver stain.
She also uses acid etching to remove a layer of colour from flashed glass, leaving shapes which she can then paint details onto. These are difficult and time consuming techniques but always achieve beautiful effects.
Stained glass is a passion for Jenny. She makes windows for fun, friends and on commission, including a window celebrating the Queen's Diamond Jubilee and several encapsulating some of her friends' hobbies and families. One of her best known pieces is a window depicting the evolution of the flu virus, made on commission for a reknowned virologist!
