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Angelika de Barra
by Yvonne Gordon
The combination of glass and lighting is almost inseparable in the work of stained glass artist Angelika de Barra. "The beauty of art glass shows up all the better with the perfect illumination," she says.
Ideas come to life in individual stained glass and mosaic designs, handcrafted by Angelika at her workshop in Lucan, Co Dublin. Most of her work goes beyond the conventional usage of stained glass – her works blend vibrant colours with sculptural shape and form.
Angelika trained in stained glass for several years, studying a variety of techniques which she incorporates into her work. Her ancestors have a long tradition in the glass-blowing industry in Germany and when she settled in Ireland, Angelika got back to the family roots and the love for glass.
Angelika says she takes her inspiration mainly from the shapes and forms of architecture, whether it is modern or not. She loves art nouveau style and mixes shapes and forms with her own ideas and inspirations. "I get inspired by every day life, an artist sees things differently," says Angelika. "I am inspired by nature and by my children."
Since setting up her own business five years ago, Angelika has achieved notable success, working on both private and commercial commissions as well as gallery work. Her framed trilogies and light boxes have been her most successful designs and she says she is always focusing on different ideas. "There are no limits, all ideas can be reproduced into glass," says Angelika.
The variety of forms that her work takes includes floor standing, wall mounted or ceiling mounted pieces, window panelling and 3-d wall pieces. Commissioned work is all made to the customers individual specifications. A large display piece created by Angelika sits in the lobby of the Ashbourne Court Hotel and another in the Evita boutique in Naas, Co Kildare.
"My pieces go into banks, foyers, even bathrooms," says Angelika. "I am currently working on a large piece for a new Dublin wine bar, and another piece for the remodelling of a bar counter in a Dublin pub. Each piece that I create is unique – nothing is repeated."
Angelika de Barra is a member of the Glass Society of Ireland Contemporary
Makers. Her work will take part in a worldwide exhibition of contemporary Irish
glass art First major exhibition of the 21st Century, which
starts in Ireland in September and will travel abroad for two years. Her work
will also be on display at the ‘Art Ireland’ exhibition in the RDS in November
and can be viewed at her studio by appointment.
© Yvonne Gordon
