Winton Chapel , University of Winchester, Hampshire
Address
Winton Chapel, University of Winchester, Sparkford Rd, Winchester SO22 4NRRecommended by
Highlight
Two light window south wall of the naveArtist, maker and date
Mel Howse, 2012Reason for highlighting
A fresh and innovative design celebrating the lives of two female saints with local connections – St Ealhswith (852-905), who founded St Mary’s Abbey, Winchester, and was the wife of King Alfred the Great; and St Edburga (920-960), who became a nun at the Abbey, and was the daughter of King Edward the Elder. Both the subject matter and the treatment provide a refreshing contemporary counterpoint to the other windows with their Victorian depictions of male saints.
Artist/maker notes
Mel Howse (b.1968) is a British glass artist and graduate of the Swansea School. As a student, and throughout her career, she has won numerous awards for her work as contemporary designer, maker, and for the contribution her art has made to heritage.
Her versatile and ambitious portfolio includes stained glass, vitreous enamels on steel, and progressive industrial pieces using toughened glass, in her quest for individual and inspiring aesthetics.
She continually re-evaluates the opportunities presented by glass as a creative architectural medium, within installed commissions for public art.
Mel’s work focuses on the nature of a piece, aiming for completeness of vision, and spirit of place, with every commission its own world in terms of innovation, purpose, symbolism or form.
Source: Mel Howse website
Other comments
The recent restoration and re-ordering of the Chapel’s internal and external fabric has won numerous awards including the RIBA South Award, 2017 and the Civic Voice Design Award, 2017