Meet the Maker: Jenny Newall
Stained glass artist Jenny Newall didn’t find stained glass, it found her. Determined to land a creative job in the midst of a recession, she wandered into a local gallery hoping to sell some cards she had made and came out with lessons from an internationally renowned stained glass artist. She soon fell in love with the “jaw-dropping, mouth-watering, eye-popping, candy-like colours” of glass and the way it “lies in a peaceful slumber until the sunlight kisses it and breathes life into the design.” We caught up with Jenny to find out more about her stained glass art…
Can you introduce yourself and describe what you do?
Hi, I’m Jenny Newall or as some may call me ‘The Stained Glass Lady’. I’m very fortunate to be a practising stained glass artist based in Shropshire. My work ranges from creating bespoke modern windows to giftware and providing stained glass workshops.
Creativity is part of my identity and it’s how I connect and understand the world around me.
Have you always been a maker?
I was born into a creative world and I was encouraged at a young age to learn through making, whether that was drawing, making mud pies or baking. My grandma’s house was an Aladdin’s cave full of treasures that came from the craft shop she once owned. So yes, I’ve always been a maker and my early years, in particular, influenced my artistic imagination. Creativity is part of my identity and it’s how I connect and understand the world around me. I don’t think my hands could ever stay still – I’m always doodling or tinkering away with some project. I’m at my happiest when I’m making.
I don’t think my hands could ever stay still – I’m always doodling or tinkering away with some project. I’m at my happiest when I’m making.
How did you discover stained glass?
I get asked this question a lot and I always say that I never intended to do stained glass; stained glass found me and gave me purpose. It began in 2008 when I completed a fine art degree from Loughborough University and after graduating found myself working in retail management. Shortly after, due to my partner’s job, we moved to the North East and I found myself isolated and unemployed. The recession was in full swing but, despite that, I was determined to find a job that was creative. I struggled to find anything, so I made a few cards and wandered into a local gallery. My creative instincts lead me to the right place at exactly the right time and the next thing I knew I was working at the local gallery, where as payment I would learn the art of stained glass. Little did I know that I would be taught by one of the best, internationally renowned, stained glass artists in the UK – a lady called Maralyn O’Keefe. How about that for luck?
I never intended to do stained glass; stained glass found me and gave me purpose.
How did you move from learning how to create stained glass to running your own stained glass business?
It’s quite by chance that I find myself running a stained glass business. My husband is an engineer and we’ve had to relocate several times during the past few years due to his work. Stained glass has been a skill that I’ve been able to transport with me during those moves. My work improved with practice, and family and friends became as enchanted as I was with the vibrant, boiled-sweet-like, mouth-watering glass. I was asked to make a few gifts for friends and family, then a few windows and then to teach glass workshops. My hobby transformed into a business that seems to have a will of its own. It’s been tough and there have been real low points where I’ve toyed with the idea of different career, but fate always brings me back to glass.
When I produce a piece, it lies in a peaceful slumber until the sunlight kisses the glass and breathes life into the design.
How would you describe your aesthetic?
A few words I would associate with my glasswork are playful, naïve, whimsical and vibrant. The glass allows me to explore pattern, shape, line and jaw dropping, eye popping, candy-like colours that glisten around my studio. I often question if I’m working with glass or with light. I ask this because when I produce a piece, it lies in a peaceful slumber until the sunlight kisses the glass and breathes life into the design. The light can totally transform my work and its energy changes throughout the day. I sometimes feel like a stained glass illustrator, turning ideas and flights of fancy into an alternate glass dimension.
I sometimes feel like a stained glass illustrator, turning ideas and flights of fancy into an alternate glass dimension
Who are your design heroes?
With art and design it’s hard to pin me down to just naming a few and it can very much depend on my mood. However, I believe in the Arts and Crafts movement and I hold a deep respect for authenticity of design, especially in the age of mechanical reproduction. From a pattern-based perspective, I get such a sense of joy and freedom from artists such as Gustav Klimt, Friedensreich Hundertwasser and Franz Marc. But the whimsical, romantic in me is drawn to other conceptual artists such as Félix Gonzáles-Torres. His work strikes a chord and it tells me to stop and take a minute to just notice the simplicity and beauty of life.
I can only make artwork when I’m happy. If I’m not feeling it, it’s not something I can force, so the energy in every piece of artwork I produce comes from joy, which I hope is conveyed to the audience.
What or who else inspires you?
As my artwork is an extension of me, it reflects my personality. One of my passions in life are animals – my house is full of cats and dogs. I’ve met lots of like-minded animal lovers through my voluntary work as a puppy walker for Guide Dogs and I’m inspired by their pets. I’m asked to make many a pet portrait and find so much joy making these.
I’m also a hoarder of old broken and battered books that have missing pages and also bits of vintage fabric and wallpapers. I have boxes and jars full of sea glass, mosaic tiles and salvaged glass that I try to repurpose within my artwork. Sometimes one fragment of patterned paper conjures a whole new design.
Animation, illustration and general popular culture are also sources for inspiration. I enjoy watching programmes where artists sculpt cake decorations from modelling chocolate or design tattoos. It’s an insight into society and creative symbolism to mark an event or occasion. I’m quite often asked to create work as a memorial or to celebrate or bless a space or event, so I’ve become fascinated by the creative mediums used to demonstrate the idea of a ‘tribute’.
My work has a naïve quality to it partially due to the simplification of translating a drawing into a technical cartoon that I can then use as my stained glass template.
How do you make your stained glass? Can you explain the process?
I can only make artwork when I’m happy. If I’m not feeling it, it’s not something I can force, so the energy in every piece of artwork I produce comes from joy, which I hope is conveyed to the audience. I start by either creating a line drawing or a mixed media mono print. My work has a naïve quality to it partially due to the simplification of translating a drawing into a technical cartoon that I can then use as my stained glass template. Once I’m happy with my technical cartoon, I play around with textures and colours and get a sense of layout. Then it’s a matter of cutting and assembling. I tend to make my suncatchers (or ‘room charms’, as I like to call them) in small batches. Usually when I’m in a repetitive part of the manufacturing process I like to listen to classical music or put the telly on – it’s very relaxing actually and doesn’t feel like I am working.
I wish I could tell you that my studio is in a small thatched cottage in a glen and I’m at one with the animals in the forest like Snow White. But alas, the reality is that my studio is in a typical modern housing estate in the suburbs.
Where is your studio and what’s in it?
I wish I could tell you that my studio is in a small thatched cottage in a glen and I’m at one with the animals in the forest like Snow White. But alas, the reality is that my studio is in a typical modern housing estate in the suburbs. I should have a dining room but it’s actually my studio. Instead of a dining table I have a huge glass desk and grinder. I have shelves with boxes, books, jars and sets of drawers galore. I also have a photo of my puppy, who is now a Guide Dog, in pride of place on my desk as a reminder of the time he spent sitting safely outside the studio door waiting patiently. One of my cats, Ariel, takes a particular interest in my work – she likes to come and inspect now and then. We joke that she’s my supervisor and interrupts to tell me that I need a tea break.
One of my cats Ariel takes a particular interest in my work – she likes to come and inspect now and then. We joke that she’s my supervisor and interrupts to tell me that I need a tea break.
Is there anything in there that you couldn’t live without?
I couldn’t live without my glass desk which doubles as a storage unit. My husband made it especially for me and, like him, it’s one of a kind. It’s been made at a certain height to suit me and obviously I painted it and added bunting!
My husband made a storage unit for me and, like him, it’s one of a kind. Obviously I painted it and added bunting!
What’s the best thing about being creative for a living?
The best thing is the flexibility it provides and that I can take it with me wherever I go. My profession is a great talking point too, so it introduces me to so many different environments and groups of people from all walks of life. This keeps things varied and exciting. When you work for yourself you have to solve problems creatively and be quite independent, which are great skills to acquire. I feel a huge sense of freedom in what I do and I get real satisfaction in seeing my work bring a smile to someone’s face – it feels good to know that my work brings joy to others. On the downside, I spend a fortune on hand cream and plasters!
I have boxes and jars full of sea glass, mosaic tiles and salvaged glass that I try to repurpose within my artwork.
If you weren’t a stained glass artist, what would you be?
I would need to be in a career that I thought made a difference, perhaps something in the legal profession would suit me in another life. I’m a geek and if there is something I don’t understand or feel is wrong I will research the laws and fight for improvement. I also love watching history programmes and could be quite happy digging up dinosaur bones or restoring old paintings. I’m sure that I would always want to work caring for animals too.
Craft is the translation of the influences and passions of your soul. Creativity is like breathing to me, it’s just how I live.
How does it feel to be part of the UK craft scene?
I feel very lucky to be part of such an encouraging network of crafters. Creativity forms a vital part of communication and education and I feel a duty to do my part. I like to think that my grandma would be proud of me with my glass work. Moving around the country the last few years has opened my eyes to the opportunities that art and craft can provide for individuals like me. I’ve found that ‘new towns’ created in Britain, particularly in relation to the UK housing crisis, are at risk of feeling like creative deserts with very little arts and heritage. I feel there needs to be more public art within our open spaces to help us to take pride and feel more connected to our landscape.
The virtual world is growing at such a rate that it’s important to gain a good understanding of social media, web design and digital photography… if you take the time to educate yourself with these things you can get more creative control over selling your work.
What would you say to someone thinking about selling their work?
I would say that you’ll always be learning new things and it’s normal to feel like a little fish in a big pond. The virtual world is growing at such a rate that it’s important to gain a good understanding of social media, web design and digital photography because that will help you market your artwork. I’m a work in progress when it comes to the virtual world. I wish I’d paid more attention at school and university in relation to computer work. If you take the time to educate yourself with these things you can get more creative control over selling your work.
I get real satisfaction in seeing my work bring a smile to someone’s face – it feels good to know that my work brings joy to others. On the downside, I spend a fortune on hand cream and plasters!
What does craft mean to you?
Craft is a part of me. It is inclusive and embraces friends, family and new experiences. It is the translation of the influences and passions of your soul. Creativity is like breathing to me, it’s just how I live.
