Creating something from nothing

Glass artist Jessie Lee explains how she chose glass as her preferred medium in her quest to represent ‘nothing’ through her art. She specialises in casting and pate de verre techniques. 

How do we represent ‘nothing’? About 15 years ago, I became obsessed with the idea. It started with a book, ‘The Nothing That Is’, by Robert Kaplan. It is about the history of the notion ‘nothing’; the symbol for ‘zero’. It is number – a symbol – we all take for granted, yet it is the most important symbol ever invented. This was the start of my journey with glass.

My creative career began with ceramics. Later, I embraced colour as a print maker. I came up with an idea of making unique, monotype prints, partly using a method known as ‘viscosity printing’. Many successful years later, I had a compelling need to work in three dimensions again. This also coincided with my ‘search for nothing’.

I felt that glass would be a good medium to explore the idea of nothing because of its transparency. The only inconvenience was that I had never used the material before! However, having trained as a ceramic artist, I thought that transferring skills wouldn’t be that difficult.

Equipped with a few books, I started with lost wax casting. The Bullseye website was very helpful. My idea was to create a form within a form. The internal form was the empty space!

As I had no experience, the mould-making was a real challenge – but I like problem solving. Before I knew it, I was totally seduced by the material. I was hooked and addicted!

I did a couple of short courses at Richmond College and ended up with a Master’s degree, majoring in glass, at UCA Farnham in Surrey.

After college, I was approached to work with Grymsdyke Farm (an innovative workshop for architecture and design students). I have an aptitude for hand modelling, but there I was introduced to computerised, 3D modelling and that opened a door to a different way of thinking and working.

I love geometry and am drawn to things that are impermanent and in perpetual flux. With 3D modelling I can transform the photograph of a reflection, the image of a hurricane, or a bubble into something solid and tangible! I can create complex shapes and forms that would have taken a long time to realise. I can take from nature and reinterpret using the software.

In my piece ‘Rotating Pentagons’, I took flowers as my inspiration. I opted for a pentagonal form, as lots of flowers have five petals. Flowers and plants often unfold in a rotation, so I applied a rotation, or twist, common in the software, to achieve my shape.

The many aspects of glass suit the way I think and the way I work. It’s a material I enjoy using to express emotion and to tell stories. Glass can be solid and unyielding, fragile and vulnerable.

My methodology is governed by my vision. The technique I use is determined by what is most suitable to the subject. Many hours are spent testing and manipulating the design and the material to achieve my ideas.

My finished work is often a long way from my starting point. For example, ‘Enneper’ started life as a bubble. I watched a child playing with bubbles and the subject sparked my imagination. What are bubbles? They are not just a fun plaything. They have very useful functions. By delving deep into the subject, I ended up exploring the geometry of minimal surfaces and ‘Enneper’ is in that family.

My latest project is inspired by a glacier in Antarctica called ‘The Thwaites Glacier’. This glacier is the size of Britain and a keystone on the west side of Antarctica. With the sea warming, it is melting from beneath the ocean. By itself, it can cause sea levels to rise, threatening floods to coastal cities.

I am not an environmentalist, but this subject caught my imagination, and I needed to explore it through my work. I wanted to express fragility and precariousness. The crystal structure of ice is hexagonal. In ‘Tipping Point’, my pate de verre hexagonal cells, precariously suspended in mid-air, appear to be disintegrating. I am working to develop this project further.

Each piece of work I make is a journey in my head. It starts with a fleeting thought; something that caught my eye; a story I read that I have a need to share.  I don’t question my own motives. The only thing I know is that I have an emotional need to make art.

As for ‘nothing’, I am still seeking the right narrative!

Find out more about Jessie Lee and her work via her website.

Main feature image: ‘Rotating Pentagons’ is made from cast glass. Each module measures 11x11x14cm. Photo: Simon Bruntnell.