Meet a Maker: Edition 33

Meet Zoe Angle

1. What is your craft and how did you get into it?

Stained glass. While studying for a Fine Art degree at Sheffield Polytechnic (now Sheffield and Hallam University) I decided I wanted to do a placement. When pressed by my tutor, I surprised myself by blurting out that I wanted to work in a stained glass studio. After my placement I returned to college and tried to teach myself stained glass from books, which was hopeless.

Once I’d graduated, I returned to London and worked as an art technician. On my way back from work, I went past a stained glass studio called The Stained Glass Place. One day I plucked up the courage and walked in. I was so lucky, Lou Spencer, the owner, offered me a job with training. Lou became a mentor to me. She’s still a good friend and I’ve shared a studio with her son Tom, for the last fifteen years.

2. What is one interesting fact about you?

When I was in my early twenties, I taught art to prisoners in Wandsworth Prison.

3. How long have you been making?

I’ve been working in stained glass for the last 32 years. After The Stained Glass Place, I went on to complete a glass painting apprenticeship with Goddard and Gibbs Studios, the largest stained glass studio in the country.

After my son was born I set up my company, Angle Glass, in 2009.

Over the last fifteen years, I’ve worked with a wide range of homeowners and I’ve also been lucky enough to build up strong working relationships with interior designers, property developers, and window and door companies.

The variety of the commissions has kept me fired up. They range from contemporary stained glass made to my design, to new stained glass made to a period design and made to be in keeping with the age of the property. I also restore old stained glass and this sometimes includes restoration painting.

4. Who are your favourite makers? 

During lockdown I was lucky to collaborate with Benjimin Finn and Tim Cunliffe on a window for The Church of St John the Baptist in Epping. I admire Benjimin’s elaborate windows, which feature great storytelling and intricate paint work. Tim’s paintings of animals are always full of character and use very expressive mark-making. Other contemporary stained glass artists includes Pinkie Maclure and Flora Jamieson. To me, Harry Clarke will always be the master.

5. What is the most challenging skill/technique you learned in your craft?

It has to be glass painting.

Getting the correct paint consistency is tricky; you want just enough water to make the paint flow easily, but still have the density of colour required.

You use brushes, called riggers, with long bristles, to paint the lines. These are like signwriter’s brushes and take some getting used to.

The amount of gum arabic in the paint mix has to be spot-on too. Sometimes when creating tone and texture you have to cover the glass with glass paint and use brushes to remove the paint, allowing the light to come through. The correct amount of gum allows enough resistance in the paint to use brushes to remove the paint in a controlled way.

Also, there’s the firing temperatures, these determine what order you paint the layers of paint, enamels and silver stain in.

It’s a very involved process.

6. What is your favourite part of your craft? 

Glass painting! It might be challenging but it’s the most rewarding part. It provides a rare moment when I get totally absorbed in what I’m doing. When I paint, I don’t notice the time passing. I find it quite meditative. You have to slow down, concentrate and work at the pace the paint dictates. I also get to use my drawing skills, which have always been important to me.

7. What project are you most proud of and why?

Last year I made two stained glass windows for a private residence. The designs were of two landscapes, one in spring and the other in autumn. Each window was 900mm wide and 1,380mm high. This gave me plenty of scope to draw flowers, shrubs, trees in blossom, lakes, skies, clouds, forest floor strewn with autumnal leaves, a stream and more trees. The key was to make the glass do as much of the work as possible. So streaky glass was used to depict the grass, water and the clouds. Then line was painted to add detail to the leaves and petals. Paint and enamels were also used to depict texture on the tree bark and blossom. Silver stain was used to add a golden glow to the autumn window.

These were technically challenging windows as the stained glass for each window had to be made in two panels and installed in bespoke frames made by Sashed Ltd, along with a sheet of toughened glass and a double glazed units.

However, with good collaboration between the clients at the design stage and Sashed Ltd throughout every stage, it became a successful project that I’m proud of.

8. If someone who knows nothing about you or your practice could know one thing, what would it be?

Stained glass gets its name from silver stain, which is a paste that is applied to the surface of the glass, once fired there is a chemical reaction, that turns the surface of the glass yellow.