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When Victoria Reid accepted a commission to create a community window
to form the centrepiece of a renovated Cornish chapel schoolroom she
had no tools, no materials and no workshop.However, such was her
delight at being asked, that these obstacles were mere trifles compared
to scale of the job itself.
Victoria
is a trained glass artist, but when she was approached by officials at
Newlyn Trinity Methodist Church in 2005 she had not been working in the
medium for some years.
The invitation was therefore both
flattering and daunting. But with the support and encouragement of
family and friends, she has a created work of art which is destined to
be admired and adored for many years to come.
Victoria was
certainly the right choice for the task. Born at the old Bolitho
maternity hospital between Newlyn and Penzance and from a well-known
local family, she had a deep knowledge of the landscape she was being
asked to portray. Nevertheless, in some ways this increased the
pressure on her to get it right.
"It's a big window and I'm a
bit of a perfectionist, so it was scary," she said. "I knew that as a
Cornish girl trying to depict the sea and sky in Cornwall I was liable
to come in for a great deal of criticism if I didn't get it right.
"I
kept wondering how I was going to capture what I feel when I walk over
the cliffs at Porthgwarra, how I was going to capture what I feel when
walk from my parents' house in Mousehole up over to the quarry in
Newlyn. It was a case of trying to capture in glass not so much the
place itself but the emotions sparked by those places."
After
leaving school and taking A levels at Camborne Tech, like many
teenagers Victoria was unsure what direction her working life should
take.
"I was very interested in drawing and painting and I'd
draw anything back then," she said. "My brother was a big fan of 2000AD
comics and I started by copying everything from them. Then I progressed
to drawing my surroundings because I was just so inspired by everything
around me. But then again, living in Cornwall, how could I fail to be
inspired?"
Her introduction to the medium she would eventually
excel in came when she met Philip Upton, a talented and highly-regarded
traditional stained glass craftsman who used to have a workshop in
Coverack. Mr Upton invited her to try her hand as a volunteer, sharing
his knowledge and expertise with her. He also encouraged her to take it
further by applying for a full-time course at art school.
Victoria
followed his advice, gained a diploma after three years studying
stained glass at Swansea, and was all set for a career in restoration.
However, a series of personal crises meant that she was forced to put
her plans on hold. In the intervening years she travelled in Spain,
Australia, the US and other parts of the UK before settling back in
West Cornwall.
It was the unique atmosphere of Penwith which
struck such a chord with Victoria's creativity. She worked as a
volunteer for Cornwall Crafts Association at Trelowarren before
becoming retail manager at Penlee House Gallery and Museum in Penzance,
where she came face to face with the paintings of the Newlyn School on
a daily basis.
Soon she began to make small pieces of stained
glass, which were snapped up by customers at a friend's art shop. It
was also at Penlee that she met museum director Alison Bevan, who
introduced her to the people at Trinity. The process of designing and
making the window took eight months and was fitted around her work at
Penlee.
"When I was offered the commission I had nothing but a
glass cutter and my knowledge," she said. "But I was lucky to be lent a
workshop at Bosence Farm Community in Townsend."
She is keen to
stress that the window has been a community effort. "There is not one
single person, from my neighbours to my work colleagues to other
stained glass artists, that I didn't ask questions of or borrow things
from," she said. "Everyone at Penlee has been loving and supportive."
Ideas for the window came from the widest sources, which were then distilled into the final design.
"I
drew my inspiration from everywhere - from Newlyn itself, from the
paintings at Penlee, from old photos of pilchard drivers, from walks
over at Ding Dong, from old boats lying up on the foreshore, from
looking at the boundaries of land and ocean, from hawthorn trees in
blossom," she said.
"I have always felt that my imagination was
far more advanced than my technical abilities and skills, so I knew the
window was going to be a huge challenge. But in a way that is why I was
drawn to glass in the first place because it is so beautiful in itself
and only requires a little intervention from me."
The finished
exhibit, which is complimented by the skills of boatbuilder and
carpenter David Need and Newlyn copper worker Michael Johnston, is a
work of great beauty. Among the individual scenes woven into the
interlinking three panels are a shoal of mackerel, oystercatchers,
foxgloves, a Cornish cross, thorn bush in flower, old luggers and
modern trawlers, a spray of yellow flags, red admirals, and a bouldery
Penwith moor.
"It was eventually a process of elimination before
I finally settled on a design I knew was going to work," she said. "I
knew it was ambitious, but working with such superbly talented
craftsmen as Michael Johnston and David Need upped my game. I lived and
breathed it for eight months, watching the days, weeks and seasons
changing at Bosence. My heart was singing all the time I was there.
"Throughout
the eight months I had a real fear of failure, but I managed to follow
my intuition, to take guidance, to listen to others and to ask for
help."
When Victoria Reid speaks about her work, but more
particularly about her love of Cornwall, it is impossible not to be
infected with her contagious enthusiasm for life.
"I never stop
feeling good about Cornwall, good about my home," she said. "Each day I
feel awe and wonder for this beautiful part of the world in which we
live. Every morning when I drive in from my home in Hayle, I come up
over the rise from Crowlas and see the Mount and I am just blown away
by the view. And I just say 'thanks' because I'm grateful for being
here. There's nowhere else I'd rather be."
Victoria Reid's
window can be seen at The Centre, Chywoone Hill, Newlyn. The Centre is
a swish new community facility, combining a place of worship with
meeting rooms which are used by a variety of groups. It is run by
brothers Julian and Jerry Drew. Julian is the minister at Trinity,
while Jerry is the centre's development officer. For details of what's
on at The Centre or to book a room for a meeting call 01736 365890 or
e-mail
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