Coloured glass was used for art and decoration in the ancient world by both Egyptians and Romans – and the techniques and materials used in making stained glass windows have changed little since the Middle Ages. Dorset artist Gillian McCormick’s love of the craft was born out of an interest in medieval art. The atmosphere, mystery and otherworldliness of the stained glass she saw in the cathedrals of St Mary’s and St Giles while studying painting at Edinburgh’s College of Art encouraged her to learn more. The essential tools – a glass cutter, grozing pliers for breaking and shaping the glass and a soldering iron – weren’t hard to collect, and Gillian started her stained glass journey by following her initial art degree with decorative glass courses in Bath and Glasgow, learning the skills of painting, staining, acid etching and fusing.

Gillian makes individual fused glass birds that are set in either a square oak wood base or natural log base.
Made by cutting out individual pieces and painting them before assembling on the base glass, with copper leg inserts. Once fired in the kiln to a temperature of 800 degrees centigrade, the little bird is mounted on to the wooden base ready to be displayed on a window sill or shelf.
They look particularly at home amongst house plants. Each bird is individually made so there are always variations, which is half the charm