Heike Brachlow

This exhibition presents a new collection of cast glass sculpture by HEIKE BRACHLOW. The forms display astonishing colour qualities and each balances precariously on a single point of contact.

Kiln casting is a lengthy and labourious process. Firstly, a model is fashioned from materials such as clay, wax, plaster, or wood. Depending on the form, this can involve the making of either a silicone rubber positive or a silicone mould, into which wax can be poured to make a positive. Then a refractory mould is taken from the positive. The mould is set up in a kiln with glass placed inside or in a reservoir above it which is usually a terracotta flowerpot. The kiln is fired to about 850°C and cooled down over several days to avoid stress in the glass. Heike developed the process of melting small batches of colour in a kiln to use for casting during her PhD studies at The Royal College of Art.

The artist states:
"The focus of my creative work is transformation, achieved through different means: colour, movement, or the use of puzzle-type elements that can be arranged in different ways. This new body of kinetic work is based on balancing toys, where form and weight distribution allow an object to move freely on a single point of contact. This is achieved by placing the centre of gravity below the pivoting point. For balancing toys, weights are used to accomplish this. The challenge for attaining balance in a glass sculpture lies in the use of form. While a single colour is employed for each sculpture, the forms display different values of colour due to the effect of varying thickness on volume colour. The colours subtly change through the course of the day due to variations in light, and drastically change when illuminated with fluorescent bulbs".

Heike Brachlow was born in Munich, Germany and is now based in England; her studio is here at Parndon Mill.

She initially studied glass at the University of Wolverhampton where she gained a BA with1st class honours. She went on to gain an MA at the Royal College of Art followed by PhD studies "Colour for Solid Glass Sculpture"

Meanwhile, having carried out a residency at Kyoto City University, Japan, Heike pursued her career teaching and lecturing in the USA and in the UK. Her work has won awards and scholarships in the UK, the USA and Japan, including the Jerwood Makers Open Award, which lead to an exhibition at the Jerwood Space on London's South Bank last year, travelling on to Belfast and Edinburgh

Her work is included in several collections including the European Museum for Modern Glass, Rödental, Germany, the Dan Klein & Alan J. Poole Collection at The National Museums Scotland in Edinburgh and the Glasmuseum Hentrich, Duesseldorf.
Heike was delighted when in 2011 at the Pilchuck Glass School annual Auction, famous glass artist Dale Chihuly, one of the founders of the school, bought her artwork “Theme and Variations VII” for US$3,500 (more than $1000 over the Gallery price).