Luisa Carmen Martin Lopez
Glass
Glass for me is a path to admire beauty, to wonder, to dream, to connect, to imagine, to experiment, to learn, to make mistakes, to create. I love the way in which ‘accidents’ can discover unexpected effects that feed new inspirations. Endless exploration is what I find the most exciting in working with this unique material.
My Story
I was born and grew up in Spain; I also lived and worked in Italy, the USA, and the UK. Throughout those years, I have worked in fulltime, structured jobs, the last ten years of which as a teacher. Still, I have always needed to give a space to my creativity, which I cultivated through art and crafts, as watercolors and pottery.
In 2013 I decided to change the drive, quitted my job and started learning two new disciplines. One was upholstery; I have been always connected with fabrics, and designing and upcycling chairs came to me as a natural and creative experience. The other discipline was Stained Glass.
For a long time I have dreamed to put my hands on glass and when I started with Stained Glass in the Macbeth Adult Education Center with Tim Cunliffe, it was fascinating playing with light and colours! Later on I became interested in the magic of Fusing Glass and I started with a Glass Jewelry course in Richmond Community College with Monette Larsen, it was really exciting and I got hooked! Since then, my interest in the Kiln formed techniques continued to grow and in 2021 I completed the BTEC Level 3 Arts and Design in Glass at Morley College with Maria Zulueta, so much learned and just glimpsing how much there is still to learn!
New ideas lead me to different techniques, each of them captivating; they open innumerable possibilities to express myself and connect my work with the world that surrounds me, especially with nature, which remains the main source of my inspiration.