Introduction

As an artist Phil Vickery finds glass one of the greatest challenges. One has to understand not only about art theory and contemporary contexts, but also the nature of this fluid material. He finds glass making to be one of the most beautiful and rewarding skills to achieve and also one of the most versatile of the crafts, but Phil is more interested in being an artist than a craftsman. The way the light travels through glass, the fragility, the possible forms and colours, the way it can be made to seem harmful, strong, light, heavy, or tactile, all makes this magical medium the biggest and most important substance and sustenance in his life.

The power of the mind and the way thoughts could be considered human energy are of great interest to Phil and a lot of his work is an exploration or representation of this idea. The way a mind has a habit of hiding things from itself and others around it. Or to some extent, the way it can be totally open. Thoughts can flow from the subconscious the way water can flow in a river, so in many instances the pieces have a flowing quality.

Phil has perfected a technique where an internal membrane of glass is twisted along the length of the piece in a graceful manner. This technique represents nature, life, energy, and movement, and Phil’s work often emulates this idea in form and content. Sometimes his work is just a driven sculptural form using this idea to make an abstract.