When working in stained glass it is impor tant to have a light-filled workspace. Rachel’s garden studio has two large windows so that she can view her work in daylight
PHOTOGRAPHS POLLY ELTES
Rachel blackens up the leadwork on a finished piece using black grate polish, brushing off any excess with a clean shoe brush
For the past 11 years, Rachel has worked from a wooden studio at the end of her garden in Godalming, Surrey
There is never a grey day for stained glass artist Rachel Mulligan. Her studio, set at the bottom of her garden, gleams with colour. Stained glass panels hanging in the windows radiate tinted light throughout the space; cut glass pieces shine like jewels on her lightbox, and beautiful paintings punctuate the walls. Light and colour are the mediums of her craft. ‘The artwork is always changing, be it with the weather, time of year or time of day. That is what brings it to life for me,’ says Rachel. ‘Seeing the colours flickering on the wall as the sun streams through the windows really lifts my spirits.’
Rachel discovered stained glass making at an evening class following a degree in Fine Art in Coventry. ‘I loved it because it was a practical skill; I enjoyed the process. As a student, I remember being awestruck by the post-war stained glass at Coventry Cathedral, but back then it never occurred to me that you could study the craft.’ She enrolled on a postgraduate diploma in stained glass at Central Saint Martins where she honed her love of traditional techniques, followed by two years studying public art at Chelsea School of Art. On graduating, she set up her home studio and began making commissions for her family.