Originally trained in Biomedical Sciences (Pharmacology) and Clinical Sciences, Amanda became interested in glass in 2002 after a stained glass course with Ray Bradley and then pursued a postgraduate in Glass and Architecture from Central St Martins College of Art and Design, London, in 2004. Amanda currently works from her studio in Dumfries and Galloway.
‘I make kiln formed glass objects, playing with gravity in the kiln. Manipulating mass, heat, colour and time I aim to create complex, elusive work that has intense colour and pattern which reacts to the light it is placed in. I use opaque glass powders to construct my work because of its varying translucency as the form elongates in the kiln. I finish the kiln fired pieces using many cold working processes to shape and mark the glass including sandblasting, hand lapping and diamond point and wheel engraving.’ – Amanda Simmons
Public Collections include: National Museums Scotland, Edinburgh; Ernsting-Stiftung Glass Museum, Germany; The Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge; Perth Museum and Art Gallery, Scotland
Amanda Simmons presents a new collection of glass vessels in her solo exhibition, We Are Crow, in March 2024.