Phil Vickery - Glass Artist

Glass to me is one of the greatest challenges to undertake as an artist. You have to understand not only about art theory and contemporary contexts, but also the nature of the fluid material. The way the light travels through glass, the fragility, the possible forms and colours, the way it can be made to seem harmful, strong, light, heavy, or tactile, all makes this magical medium the biggest and most important substance and sustenance in my life.

My work is innovative, but also aesthetically pleasing. I am not too caught up in function, but feel that my work is an exploration into the energy and power of nature and humanity.

The power of the mind and the way thoughts could be considered human energy are of great interest to me and a lot of my work is an exploration or representation of this idea. The way a mind has a habit of hiding things from itself and others around it. Or to some extent, the way it can be totally open. The base is often a representation of the brain and subconscious, which is a base and starting point of all conscious thought. Thoughts can flow from the subconscious the way water can flow in a river, so in some instants the piece has a flowing quality across the subconscious. This technique represents nature, life, energy, and movement, and my work often emulates this idea in form and content. Sometimes my work is just a driven sculptural form using this idea to make an abstract.