Isinglass

I have a degree in Graphic Design from Liverpool Polytechnic. I started making glass hangings in my spare time when I stopped drawing for a living. Finding glass incredibly inspirational I studied on various courses across the NW, starting ‘Isinglass’ after being made redundant in 2003. With a grant from The Crafts Council, I was able to buy a professional level kiln and teach myself fusing and slumping. I have made stained & fused glass for 5 years now and currently sell through small galleries and museum shops across the UK.

I also keep fish and can become completely engrossed watching the fish move effortlessly through the depths of my pond! To catch the light and movement of fish and water, the myriads of textures and hues in stained glass, make it the ideal medium. Combine this with delicate springy wire and these 50’s inspired fish sinuously turn their heads and flick their tails as the breeze catches them. Wonderful dancing coloured shadows are created on the walls as the sun plays through the glass. As the pieces touch they produce a delicate, almost Buddhist temple, ‘ting’! The contrast between the coloured glass and the bright polished solder ‘scales’ is equally pleasing. Suspended from a fluorocarbon thread to quiver in the slightest breeze, they readily ‘swim’ all day long.

Roots of ‘Isinglass’

[‘aizin,gla:s] noun [mass noun]. A kind of gelatine obtained from fish, especially sturgeon, and used in making jellies, glue etc. and for fining real ale. – ORIGIN Mid 16th Century: alteration [by association with glass] of obsolete Dutch huysenblas ‘sturgeon’s bladder’ - from huysen ‘sturgeon’ and blas ‘bladder’.
[chiefly US] Mica or a similar material in thin transparent sheets, in medieval times used as glass in church windows.
[Europe – informal] ‘She’s in glass’

Contact Ally Noble

Email: mail@allynoble.com