Exhibition ‘Inspired by William Morris’
Online gallery
We invite all Members to create an exhibition panel measuring 30cm x 30cm. Your panel can be made with traditional stained glass techniques or with contemporary and experimental methods. We look forward to seeing your work, whether you are a professional, an enthusiast or a novice. If you are not already a Member you can join here to enter.
All work should be new and made in response to the theme Inspired by William Morris, interpreted in any way you choose. We are hoping for a wide range of work that reflects his varied creative, social and intellectual achievements. You can watch a free webinar that launched the project here. Stained glass is an art form that takes time and thought to create. By studying the past we can look at the craft afresh and communicate it to a modern audience. We would like this exhibition to help inspire a new generation of people to work with stained glass and commission it for public buildings and homes as William Morris succeed in doing.
Entry to the online exhibition is free and work can be added until December 2025. You can submit up to three panels for the online exhibition by sending a high-resolution image to portfolio@bsmgp.org.uk. You must include your name, title, medium/techniques and up to 60 words about your piece.
A panel of experts selected 24 panels for a touring exhibition in a new display stand sponsored by Sanderson, who hold the Morris & Co. archive.
All work for the tour is for sale and includes a 40% commission fee. Sold work will leave the exhibition and there will be an opportunity for other panels to be displayed. There is a £30 selection fee to enter. Please email portfolio@bsmgp.org.uk if you would like your panel to be considered for venues. Note that all panels need to fit into a 30cm square opening and be less than 15mm deep.
The exhibition launched at the International Festival of Glass in Stourbridge 23-26 August 2024 and then moved to the Stained Glass Museum in Ely where it will remain until the end of October. From there it will move to the stunning Rochdale Town Hall where it will be open to the public until mid February 2025. More venues may be announced later.
Enjoy the online exhibition. Just click on the image to scroll through the panels. We will add more as they are submitted.
Painted, stained, leaded, layered glass. "The art and craft of The Red House, built for William Morris, is to be found in its inner structure, as well as its outer decoration."
Painted and leaded stained glass. "In a letter to Thomas Coglan Horsfall in 1881, William Morris wrote, "The only limitations I should put upon subjects would be upon landscape painters; and to them I should insist on all their pictures being real portraits of real country...Where is it?" My landscape shows the River Thames nearest to Kelmscott, using as inspiration my own drawings and also an embroidery by May Morris, whose tiny dense stitches I referenced in the painting of the reeds along the riverbank."
Stained glass leaded panel with hand-painted antique and machine made glass. "William Morris sought to break down the barrier between home and garden, introducing nature into peoples’ homes through his organic designs. We now need to encourage people to re-introduce nature back into their gardens where so many are covered with paving. The quote by William Morris highlights that even a small area of green gives opportunities for nature to thrive."
Leaded panel with linocut print in vitreous paint fired in the kiln on Antique and textured glass. "Inspired by the wood carved pattern blocks held in the Sanderson archives I wanted to create my own repeating pattern block which I did with Lino. As someone who loves the English countryside I was drawn to strong shapes found in nature, in this case oak leaves. I decided on the interlocking leaf design with strong lead lines, with the oak tree in the repeating lino print pattern in traditional vitreous paints, fired in the kiln, in the background."
Stained glass painted, enameled and leaded; fused and plated. "Balloons with tiny bubbles inside give the piece more dimension and turn it into a 'glass relief'. The painted floral ornaments are inspired by the work of William Morris."
Hand blown mixed antique glass, using variations of colour with a complimentary tinted reamy background, traditionally leaded. "On the basis of observation drawings of orange trees, my stylistic approach to the panel is the flattening of the forms into a pattern-like format. This allows the image to be self-contained, but also provides the basis for a repeating pattern along the lines of a William Morris wallpaper design."
Traditional painted, stained, and leaded glass. "This panel depicts nature encroaching on an otherwise geometric design. Two of William Morris' inspirations are at odds: a grid of floral patterns is slowly being overtaken by plants from the right, with leadlines seemingly bent to their will."
Glass painted, enamelled, fused, plated, framed. "Lazy rain softly falls / Ink whispers in neon glow / Night embraces her."
Acid etched, painted and stained antique glass, leaded. "I have always been compelled by the floral patterns of William Morris. I couldn't resist using one of them and I developed a design opportunity to incorporate 'Tulip and Willow' in my stained glass panel. Working on it during the different stages of acid etching and painting I understood the intricacy and balance of the pattern. William Morris stated that an ornamental pattern should contain three qualities: beauty, imagination and order. I hope to have respected these principles."
Sandblasted, painted, stained and enamelled handmade glass. "This piece was inspired by the only repeating pattern designed by William Morris in collaboration with Sir Edward Coley Burne-Jones. Burne-Jones's mermaids were incorporated in Morris's scrolling foliage and flower-heads and although the fabric was never woven, the background pattern became the 'Wreath' wallpaper of 1876 and the mermaid figures were adapted by Burne-Jones for paintings in the 1880's. I was inspired by the original's sketch-like quality, beautiful muted palette and theme to make my own interpretation as a Welsh mermaid, or Môr-forwyn, from local Pembrokeshire coastal waters."
Sandblasted, engraved, and painted flash glass. "While making this piece, I was researching William Morris heavily. His use of florals and leaves inspired my own work, particularly in this work. This piece was created to illustrate the slow burn of falling in love deeply, and learning to trust fully. The leaves are meant to be lush and ever growing, as I feel when I look at Morris's work."
Painted, stained and fused glass including faceted jewels, mosaic and etching paste leaded together. "When I look at William Morris’ work, I see busy patterns and colour harmony. These qualities have inspired my panel, whilst highlighting the social issues concerning Morris in the 19th century. I have used various techniques, including silver stained patterned illustrations and the integration of fusing, to highlight these social issues in a modern way: because they still matter today."
Float glass, silverstain and sandblasted. "Morris’s birds appear across many textiles, wall papers and stained glass. There is also a nod to these currently difficult times and the context of flight/warfare and technology. This hand rendered reworking has returned Morris’s Thrush as a Skylark ‘high in the sky’ singing against a backdrop of both mass production, destruction and the fragility of nature and human kind."
Fused glass using powders, frits and cut bullseye glass, painted with enamels and Reusche stained glass paint. "This piece is inspired by the first woven cloth featuring a bird design made by Morris & Co which was to become Morris’ favourite fabric. I have adapted the birds to resemble song thrushes alongside the ornate pale green foliage and contour fused flowers for added texture."
Mouthblown glass, screenprinted, painted and plated. "This piece is my response to the poem 'A garden by the sea' by William Morris. The poem explores the speakers longing for a beloved lost garden and the person they shared it with. The garden symbolises the speakers desire for a lost paradise and the unattainable nature of their past love."
Antique hand blown and flashed glass. Silverstain and leaded. "Eluding to the Morris imagery of the fruit of the trees. This panel, depicting the apple tree, is full of fruit and bursting with expressionistic autumnal colour."
Kiln fired painting with two firings, tracing line and shading black. Red spectrum and teal glass, leaded, soldered, cemented and blacked. "To reflect William Morris's fascination with the natural world and inspired by the recent webinar, I decided to feature the 'tomato soup' coloured chair and a modern version of the leafy wallpaper."
Traditionally painted, kiln fired and leaded glass, made using mostly Oceanside glass. "When planning this panel, I tried to bear in mind a Morris colour palette and the word handmade. I enjoyed rediscovering the layers of pattern contained in Morris’s wallpaper and textile designs."
Antique cathedral glass, kiln fired glass paint using dip pen and painting. "Images inspired by William Morris' tree of life design with emphasis placed on two birds. This piece aims to combine the fine detail prevalent in much of Morris' work whilst retaining the personality of the craftsman's hand. The lead work represents the trunk and limbs of the tree and uses different thicknesses to emphasis the irregularity of nature."
Plated flash glass, acid etching, engraving, glass paint, silver stain, iron acetate, kiln firing. "The William Morris inspiration behind this piece comes from three places. The delicate use of silver stain on turquoise glass to add complexity and variety. The compositional use of foliage to frame a subject (frequently acanthus leaves on many of the Morris/Burne Jones commissions). Finally the mythological subject matter. My composition is loosely based on Puck from A Midsummer Night’s Dream. The dreamy evening landscape is the setting for Puck to dance, ablaze with mischief."
English Antique and Lamberts Glass. Engraved, painted, silver stained and enamelled. "A vibrant interpretation of one of the last block printed wallpapers designed by Morris and Co. dating from 1926. It shows a bird perching amid branches, foliage and pomegranate fruits which I felt would lend itself to stained glass."