Sandra A. Fuchs

Glass sculptor

Bewitching glass

The use of colour is a vital part of Sandra’s work
Varied use of her glass canes (and murrine) are her signature style
She came to the glass in a roundabout way

Sandra Fuchs works with glass, applying coldwork, flamework, fusing, glassblowing and kiln sculpting methods. Innovated from the traditional glassmaking murrine techniques, her speciality are free-form glass canes which she pulls directly from the kiln. Murrines are patterns made in a glass cane by having different colours of molten glass layered, heated and stretched into a rod. Cutting the rod into cross-sections reveals the pattern. Sandra uses up to 25 different coloured glasses within one pull. “Colours show the mood of a work at first glance. Colours convey feelings.” The varied use of her hotshaped glass canes – featuring a nucleus showing its inner workings – has become a signature style. The fine lines within these nuclei run through the glass like veins and lifelines present a further evolution of her work.

Interview

How did it all start?: In 2002, I saw the image of a glass dragon by Julie Anne Denton. I was dying to know how to achieve this three-dimensionality with glass. At that time, I was working with clay. Soon after, I booked a flamework course – the first small step on my long glass journey.
What was the first work you made?: Due to the variety of courses I took, there were many firsts from a wide technical range. The first piece that had meaning for me is a mouth-blown one named after the feeling I had when I first held it in my hands "Arrived". It was created in 2013, the year I opened my studio.
Why does glass resonate so much with you?: I tried other creative fields such as silversmithing, ceramics and writing. But working with glass makes me feel at home. Strong and fragile like me, it’s a material I feel emotionally connected to. Glass shows how it wants to be handled. It's not a material I simply use, I have a dialogue with it.
What do you love most about your craft?: The chance to express myself creatively, to feel and understand the result with my hands at the end of the process. The physical presence of a thought is a piece of magic for me.

Sandra A. Fuchs is a master artisan: she began her career in 2002 and she started teaching in 2013