Kim Bramley

Kim studied at Central St Martin's School of Art in London, graduating with a BA (Hons) in Fashion and Textile Design in 1992. She worked internationally as an assistant fashion designer/freelance textile designer before setting up her own business working with printed textiles and later handmade paper for a number of years. She decided to re-train in techniques for kiln-formed glass and she gained experience with various leading glass artists in Scotland and Sweden. In January 2006, Kim was a teaching assistant to Swedish glass artist Ingelena Klenell and later that year she worked with Sami glass artist, Monica Edmondson in her studio in Lapland. Kim has also studied various types of glassmaking in Britain and worked for 'Fusionglass' on the Isle of Skye for many years.

In 2015, Kim and her husband moved to live in South Brittany, France, in a renovated former milking parlour in the heart of a dairy farming community. Surrounded by pastureland filled with cows and tractors, Kim's days in the atelier are punctuated by daily walks with her dog and time in their garden.

'My work is about a love for making, a passion for materials and a dedication to mastering techniques. Form, Colour and Texture are my alphabet.'

'When I was a child I was always making "things" and just don't seem to have stopped! Inspiration comes easily in the form of mixing colours and textures, irrespective of the medium. I would describe my creative process as uncomplicated, intuitive fun. The important thing for me is not about reaching a goal, it's just to keep on making the next step. I don't start with a fixed picture of what I want to achieve, but flow with the making process until I can pull the work together. Sometimes a piece just rushes together, other times I have to move through a whole load of phases. There is a moment when I know I've done all I need to do, and the work is as finished as it will ever be. However, I always feel that no piece is ever completely finished, it's merely a signpost along the way. I am now working in the medium of glass. I create plates, bowls, brooches, and large glass panels by fusing, slumping, and painting layers of glass in a kiln. The 'layer upon layer' collage techniques of fusion, and the medium of glass speaks to me because I love to find hidden depths in what I am observing.'