Meet the stained glass artist- Flora Jamieson- The Round Window.

I was thrilled when Flora let me visit her studio recently to takes photos of her creative space here in Dorset. Hope you enjoy Flora’s interview below & the photos I took xx

Tell us a little about your creative journey to becoming a Stained Glass Artist?

I graduated from Sussex University with a media studies degree, and then worked in London as a studio assistant for a few years, first in a design studio, and then in a photographic studio. Working alongside skilled, creative people whilst my day to day work was rather less exciting gave me the push to learn a craft, something that involved working with my hands, and I stumbled upon stained glass. It ticked all the boxes of things I was interested in– design, colour, pattern, interiors and architecture, and I loved the process of cutting the glass, assembling the pieces with lead and then soldering. I wanted to make it my career, which wasn’t an easy transition, but I was determined and took any opportunities that came my way. Eventually an unpaid Saturday job in a stained glass studio in South London became 1 day a week, and then 2, and in the end I was full time. Because I had some artistic ability, having taken art up to A-level, it was a natural progression from making windows on the work bench to designing and painting the glass. After 3 years there, I moved to Dorset with my partner to start a family, and alongside raising our two daughters, I started my own small stained glass business, which flourished when I began to share my work online.

What is your creative process?

When working to commission, I usually start by pulling together images and ideas on a concept board so I can present it to the client and we can start to give shape to the theme and design. Once this is established, I make lots of loose sketches, playing with ideas and working out some of the technical details such as how the window will be structurally supported and whether it will need to be divided up into smaller sections. From these sketches, I’ll work up one or two into colour illustrations to present to the client to get their feedback. And from there I’ll draw up their chosen design at full size, sketching in any painted details (this is known as the “cartoon”). And once that is approved, I can start selecting, cutting and painting the glass.

Sketching the layout for the finished design.

How would you describe your style?

My style is constantly evolving, but most of my work centres around celebrating the beautiful impermanence of nature - capturing the fleeting moment of a flower in perfect bloom, a leaf unfurling, a bird poised to catch an insect. Those moments always evoke a childlike joy in me when I witness them in the wild, and being able to portray them in a medium like stained glass that will last for hundreds of years, is something I find very rewarding.

Where does your inspiration come from?

Living in rural Dorset, I am constantly inspired by the coast and the countryside, the flora and fauna around me, and the changing seasons. I also look to artists and designers whose work brings me joy – particularly the artists of the Arts and Crafts movement, such as William Morris, Charles Voysey, Walter Crane, Edward Burne Jones and William De Morgan. The harmonious colour palettes, the balance of symmetry and repetition, and the fluid, serpentine lines of their patterns and illustrations is something I strive for in my own stained glass designs.

What do you love most about your creative space?

That it is entirely mine - I get to choose the music, the temperature (often sauna-like when I’m trying to warm up after my early morning sea swim!), and when I have my coffee break. I can leave it in a chaotic mess, ready to pick up again the next day exactly where I left off, or I can put everything back in it’s place and sweep up and walk into a calm organised sanctuary the next day. Both have their merits. Occasionally I miss the good-natured camaraderie of working with others, but mostly I like working on my own.

What does a typical 'day in the life of' look like for you?

I wake up at about 6.30am and jump out of bed, hastily dress and then cycle 2 miles down to the beach at West Bay for a swim. Then I come home, have a shower and breakfast and chivvy my two teenage daughters off to school. Once it’s all quiet in the house, I usually have a coffee and reply to emails and then head out to the studio to start work, which might be working on a design for a commission, painting some restoration pieces for another stained glass studio or leading up a window. Around 1pm my partner Mike comes back from his studio (which is a 10 minute walk away – he is a waxwork figure maker) and we’ll have lunch together, outside in the garden when the weather is warm enough. I’ll probably get distracted by the cats for a bit, do some social media stuff and then back to the studio for the rest of afternoon, until the girls return around 4pm. After a quick catch up with them I’ll go back to the studio until about 5 or 6 depending on how busy I am. In the evenings after we’ve cooked and eaten dinner, I’ll usually have a bit more admin to do – working out quotes, replying to emails, sending invoices, any PR stuff, and checking in with the students on my Domestika course (my online stained glass course that I teach). If there’s any time left after that I might get an hour of telly on the sofa!

Tell us a bit more about your Wild Swimming adventures?

I've always loved pottering around in rivers - as a child we had a chalk stream river at the bottom of our garden, and I have very fond memories of spending most of the summer holidays in it with my sister, playing with the flowing green mermaid-hair fronds and fried-egg flowers of the water crowfoot growing in abundance, and finding caddisfly larvae and marvelling at their beautifully crafted mosaic-like cases. Even now the earthy smell of a river takes me right back to those carefree days, and is always accompanied by the urge to get in it! About 10 years ago, I decided to be more intentional about swimming outdoors, and to make opportunities to do it on a regular basis. Living near the sea, this meant running or cycling down to the beach for a quick dip after dropping my children at school , or planning family days out and holidays around places near suitable swimming spots.

In 2017 I was invited to give a talk and lead a swim in the river Teifi at a women's retreat (the wonderful Sisterhood Camp) at Fforest in Wales. As a gift to the guests, I had the idea to make a little book with some safety advice, tips, health benefits, inspiring quotes and useful resources, but felt it needed some illustrations to bring it to life. I reached out to illustrator Gemma Koomen, whose work I adore, to see if she would be interested in collaborating, with the idea that we could print a few extra copies to sell... and luckily she said yes. 5 years and over 4,000 copies later, the book is still going strong and stocked in a selection of independent lifestyle stores in the UK and Europe.

I still swim regularly, about 4 or 5 times a week, either in the sea or a nearby lake when the sea is too rough, and I document my swims over here.

LINKS:

WEBSITE: https://www.florajamieson.co.uk/

INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/theroundwindow/

DOMESTIKA COURSE: https://www.domestika.org/en/courses/3547-stained-glass-art-explore-the-leaded-technique/fmjstainedglass

WILD SWIMMING INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/thelittlewildswimmingbook/

WILD SWIMMING BOOK: https://www.florajamieson.co.uk/shop/wild-swimming-book