Helen Stokes began working in glass in 1978 making leadlight windows and soon chose to work with copper foil as it offered the flexibility of three dimensional designs.
Helen was Artist in Residence for two years at Scotch College in Melbourne before attending Monash University where she completed a Post Graduate Diploma of Ceramic Design majoring in glass in 1995. During this time she began casting in glass and soon after began teaching workshops in glass casting and silicone rubber mould making. During the past five years Helen has developed a specific mould making process that she has named the Honeycomb Technique. The honeycomb structure that is built into the mould walls makes the mould lighter and stronger than the traditional block mould. It also constitutes a mould that is less likely to have major cracking develop during the firing process.
Helen has taught this process at Bullseye Glass in US, Creative Glass in Switzerland, Sydney College of the Arts and Canberra School of Art, winter workshop, RMIT University and Monash University in Melbourne.
Helen's work has been influenced by the characteristics of the shells and rocks that she has become familiar with whilst enjoying the freedom and beauty of the beach and ever changing skies over the Pacific Ocean at Pambula Beach where she holidays with her family. She is attracted to the smooth seductive inner spiral of the broken shells and the eroded textures of the rocks that punctuate the coast line.
Helen enjoys working with the tactile qualities inherent in glass. She casts forms that accentuate the coolness of the glass, its highly polished surface defining the contours and rugged rock exterior that evoke memory and mood.
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