Vicky Higginson

Primarily a glass artist, Vicky Higginson uses hand-blown and cold-worked glass combined with vernacular materials to explore ideas of culture, ritual and personal narratives.

Q&A

Artist Statement

Primarily a glass artist Vicky uses hand-blown and cold-worked glass to explore ideas of culture, ritual and personal narratives. Since graduating with a MA in Glass from the University of Sunderland in 2011 she has exhibited work nationally, notably at the British Glass Biennale in 2012 and 2019, Collect in 2019 and the Jerwood Art Fund Makers Open in 2022; and internationally in Ireland, Japan, the Czech Republic and the US. Vicky’s work plays with the qualities of the material to create tactile, visually intriguing objects, whether in conceptual or design-led glass art. Themes running through her practice include explorations of ritual objects and personal experiences and connections with place. Through investigations of coded mark-making, personal narratives and unsettling composite sculptures, her conceptual work has evolved to explore issues of mental health and healing. Recent works titled ‘Coping Mechanisms’ created for the Jerwood Art Fund Makers Open (JAFMO), draw on folklore, mythology and medical history to imagine ways to treat emotional ailments. Feathers, mirrors and mark-making techniques reoccur throughout the work, referencing the symbolic presence of these in both fairytales and rituals across the globe, often as a way to connect to other worlds or see things differently. In this work Vicky explores the idea of ‘folk-futurism’, a term she coined to describe the meeting point of folklore with science fiction.

What craft do you work with?

I work with glass and mixed media, having begun working with glass during my BA in 3D Design at Manchester Metropolitan University. I went on to complete a Masters in Glass at the University of Sunderland in 2011 and since then have been living and working in Edinburgh.I mainly work with blown and hot-sculpted glass which I then often embellish or alter through coldworking processes. I love carving glass, cutting through layers of colour and altering the optical and tactile qualities of the surface.

Your Workspace?

As I work with composite sculptures, my studio space is crammed with many colours and forms of glass components, which may make it into pieces of work one day.I also have access to coldworking facilities, including my lathe, which I use with a variety of diamond cutting wheels and other equipment to carve and engrave the glass pieces. I don’t have my own glassblowing facilities, but instead rent studio time in Edinburgh or Sunderland.

Are there new techniques you would like to try?

I’m currently learning neon bending, which is a very different technique to any that I’m used to, but which I think might open up some really exciting possibilities in my work.