Play of light: Elizabeth Kent’s mirror works capture temporal effects

12 December 2023

The London-based artist discusses why she took a shine to working with mirror

12 December 2023

Elizabeth Kent in the studio. Photo: Christina Thaisen

We love learning more about the Crafts community – who they are, what sparks their curiosity, and (perhaps, most importantly) what they enjoy making. So in November we took to Instagram and asked our crafty readers to share a photo of our Autumn/Winter 2023 issue in their studios, for a chance to be featured on our website and social platforms.

We’ve now selected three of our favourites – first up is Elizabeth Kent, a London-based artist who uses glass and other lustrous materials to create reflective works.

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How long have you been making mirror artworks?

For around four years, though my interest in reflectivity has developed over a much longer period, through making sculpture and studying art. At the heart of my practice there’s always been a desire to capture and explore the temporal effects of light in material form.

Which craft techniques are involved?

Most of my works combine reflective metals and paint or pigment, it’s a form of verre églomisé where reflective metals and enamels are layered on the reverse side of glass. Some of my work involves building up the reflective surface with metal leaf or hand silvering, while other pieces are made by transforming manufactured mirror by dissolving some reflective areas and working an image into it.

How did you learn and develop these?

I’m quite self-reliant in developing my work, teaching myself through experimentation and observation. Recently I’ve been learning hand silvering, through an interest in creating gradients of reflection and exploring how fine silver deposits respond to light. It’s a process of personal trial and error, but I like that surprising and perhaps unique, results occur that way.

Artist Elizabeth Kent makes mirror artworks by combining traditional and contemporary techniques

Tell us about your studio and how you like to work.

I work in a fine art studio complex in Tottenham, surrounded by lots of artists and makers, mainly painters. I use this space for producing drawings, samples and hand-painting pieces, the clean work! I also use a shared workshop space locally for preparing glass, working with chemicals and some specialised machinery for glass cutting and fabrication.

I research historical mirror-making techniques and use what I learn to develop studies and samples in the studio, often working across mediums, combining techniques. I might print a photograph on a reflective surface and use that as a guide for working on a hand-painted, hand-silvered piece. Increasingly I refer to a photographic diary where I record effects of light that I observe daily or when I’m travelling.

What’s the inspiration for your pieces, and how does each edition develop?

The mirror pieces are inspired by natural light phenomena, forms of reflection and spatial dualities or dimensions which reflective elements in nature offer. One of the things I enjoy about working with reflective materials is the potential to create a visually ‘live’ surface. A surface which responds to changing contexts, conditions of light and the participation of the viewer. I’m always considering the context and the viewer when developing pieces.

Sometimes specific experiences of places feed into my work. In the summer I visited an amazing lighthouse on the west coast of Norway. I’ve been developing a mirror series around being there at sunset and experiencing beams of artificial light interacting with the last of the natural light, as it was dissolving. It was beautiful to see these contrasting elements of light overlapping, illuminating the headland and rock pools.

A mirror from Kent's Shaded Reflections series
Kent pictured alongside her Lattice artwork

Can you name a couple of your favourites?

I like Lattice because I managed to create quite a dynamic surface which evokes a play of light. And the recent Liquid Light series where I hand silvered glass to create unique gradients and forms of reflection, exploring the idea of lightscapes and connections between silver and light.

I feel most proud of a piece when it really enhances or activates a space. It might be simply that it draws light into a shadowy corner, or reflective shapes highlight and frame another perspective of the interior or garden for example. People who own my work often comment on how much the visual effect varies with different lighting, at different times of day.

What are some site-specific commissions you have made?

Most of my commissions are for homes, developed through direct discussion with the collector. I like the idea of pieces being ‘lived with’, that there’s a durational aspect to them. I’ll often try to create an interplay between the mirror and windows in a room, partly to borrow light, but also thinking about levels and scale of reflectivity.

How would you like to shape your work in future?

In terms of practice, I’m trying to develop the materiality of my pieces, making unique interactions of metal and polychrome more the focus, over defined imagery. I also want to make the pieces more immersive and include the viewer more directly as a dynamic.

Detail of Silhouette
Kent's Silhouette mirror shown in an interior

What does craft mean to you?

Coming from a contemporary art background, I find the scope and diversity of material investigation in the craft sector really exciting and inspiring, particularly in contemporary collectible craft, where boundaries between art, design and craft are being questioned.

The use of craft techniques in my art practice has been very rewarding, it’s given me a framework and structure for working in a more fluent and productive way, one piece seems to naturally lead to the next. Craft has provided continuity within my working process.

How do you engage with the wider maker community?

I like to engage in physical events, gaging responses to my work from direct interactions with the public and other makers. I mainly work alone so I really enjoy the contrast of showing through workshops, exhibitions, fairs, and open studios.

How long have you read or subscribed to Crafts and why?

It was through some talent-development workshops at Crafts Council that I became aware of the magazine. Having studied a different discipline, it’s been a really useful way of becoming familiar with interesting artists, curators and writers, as well as opportunities to show and sell my own work. I’m currently working my way through the back catalogue online! I particularly like reading about material innovation, and find Crafts often has articles about new materials being developed and utilised by artists and industry.

For the chance to enter future competitions and see more inspiring things from the world of craft, follow us here.

Play of light: Elizabeth Kent’s mirror works capture temporal effects

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