TERESA CHLAPOWSKI
Having been a knitwear designer for many decades, the desire to create her own view of the world proved in the end irresistible. Glass was always there in the background, something alchemic and mysterious and out of reach. But after taking some ceramic and sculpture courses, Teresa followed it with kiln formed courses at the University of Hertfordshire, sand-casting glass at the University of Creative Arts, Farnham and master classes with Colin Reid and Max Jacquard. And that was it; Teresa fell in love with this amazing medium – an alternative universe of light and shadows, yet still so very solid.
For over 15 years, Teresa has created both sculptural and functional glass work, as well as photography based digital art. Her main techniques are, for the moment, kiln formed and sand cast glass. Though pushing the glass to its limits, in an attempt to express her ideas, sometimes leads to lots of unusual experimentation, methods and combinations!
In her more figurative sculptural work, she 'sculpts or paints’ a glimpse of the human form that is simultaneously mysterious and revealing, or moments trapped in time, but always with a story to tell which engage the viewer to make their own. Her work is often layered using many sheets of glass, or 'pourings’ depending on the technique, to give a sense of depth and which seem to open a secret door into another, more spiritual imagined world. This is especially true in her sand cast glass sculptures.
Her kiln formed panels and vessels express her earlier textile background, made by using one off slumping moulds which have a more fabric, flowing quality.
The human form as well as ancient cultures provide inspiration, and how their visual interpretation of their beliefs, even now, influence our view of today’s world.
Photography acts as a way of note taking. Catching moments of sudden sunlight, details in intricate patterns of ethnic textiles, or the textured ridges of sand, but she also uses it to record all her travels to faraway places like Bhutan, Peru, Egypt and the Antarctic. Teresa often combines photography within her glass work.
She works from her studio in Harrow and sand casts at Parndon Mill with Jon Lewis in Harlow.
A member of Glass Art Society (America), Contemporary Glass Society, Just Glass Society, Chelsea Art Society (winning quite a few awards) and exhibits with them as well as being represented by various galleries in London and in the Cotswolds. She has been selected to show at the Mall Galleries with the Royal Society of Marine Artists (RSMA), Society of Women Artists (SWA) amongst others and has also exhibited in France and Japan with work there as well as in collection in Poland and the US.
