About Mel Howse
Mel Howse's work embraces a wide audience. Her art installations are to be found in schools, churches, hospitals, livery halls and even a supermarket. These challenges have explored all kinds of briefs and environments, in adventurous and progressive ways. Whether allied to a new building or ancient architecture, she has spanned the boundaries of both historical glazing techniques and emerging glass technology - sometimes combining the best of both. One of the technical beauties of glass as a medium is its ability to form part of an architectural environment, or even the building envelope. Opening up the functional possibilities for a place for art.
As a designer, her vision of the completed work is given life through her concept designs and, as an artist-maker, she directly and tangibly builds upon the imagined piece with all the mystery and magic of the medium. This nurtured continuity gives every commissioned work its own unique and creative fingerprint. The very individual needs of each and every client provides the diversity within her portfolio.
The signature characteristics of her recent work on glass and steel are layered fields of deeply textured patterns suspended within the glassy skin. Whether etched into the body of glass or carried by an enamelled surface layer, these visually vibrating surfaces can be intricate and organic. Visual gravity plays a part in her compositions often alongside weightless or migrating textures. Visual movement, momentum and tension are key components.
These characteristics have threaded back and forth throughout Mel's commissioned work. For example, a crazy and complex weave of coloured patterns and textures can be found in Mel's 2008 art glass facade for the Sainsbury's superstore in Milton Keynes, which exploits both fired enamelled work and hand-blown glass on a huge scale. Another example is her 2009-installed double facade at St Mary's in Angmering, Sussex, which with carving and kiln-work takes clear glass and refracted light to sculpt patterns and textures over the body of the work.
Both dramatic features and subtle augmentations of light are present in Mel Howse's portfolio. Whether the brief is to transmit symbolism, create atmosphere and animation for new architectural spaces or to transform existing ones, her work aims to stir the imagination and the senses.
Mel is experienced in working as part of architectural design teams, providing design concepts and presentation material as part of architectural competitions and in support of negotiations for new-build schemes. Mel can bring in-house construction, design and project management expertise to interface directly with professional teams.
