Lydia Marouf qualified in Architectural Glass from Swansea College of Art in 1981. Over the next 7 years she established herself as a professional glass artist; assisting the celebrated stained glass artist and luminary Lawrence Lee, realising his designs for commemorative windows at:- Sandhurst Military Academy, Guildford Cathedral and Gobowen Parish Church. Later she co-founded Glass Light Studios Limited in Swansea, specialising in contemporary architectural stained glass design and manufacture.
In 1987 she decided to apply her professional experience by lecturing full-time at North East Wales Institute (now Glyndwr University) in the School of Art & Design, on all aspects of architectural glass design. In 1994 she pioneered a new course in glass at Yale College Wrexham, Faculty of Art & Design, which introduced students to traditional glass techniques along with new technologies, such as kiln forming, glass abrasion and engraving techniques. This course run for eleven years and explored the different qualities of glass and the way contemporary architecture has benefited from new design applications that utilised glass for its aesthetic qualities.
Recently, Lydia was awarded a Master of Arts degree in Glass (September 2013) from the University of Wales: Trinity St. David, Swansea. In contrast to some of her pervious richly coloured stained glass works, she researched how different qualities of light can affect Float glass within a given space. Through employing a variety of glass surface treatments and introducing various layers, the glass can be made to simultaneously display luminescent, translucent and opaque dimensions.
"Glass is a fantastic material of contrasts. It can be transparent or opaque. Made perfectly flat or folded and draped into three-dimensions. It can look plain or textured and made to reveal the whole colour spectrum or appear devoid of colour. I employ glass for all these qualities and more. Ultimately, I love the way glass captures light, how it interacts with light and the ability of glass to be transformed by light depending on seasonal changes and the architectural context". - Lydia Marouf 2014
To view Lydia's most recent work you can visit the Contemporary Glass Society Website of which Lydia is a member.
