Winter Spirits: A Study in Myth and Form

Winter Spirits began as a series of engravings exploring the figures and stories that emerge during the darker months of the year.

Each design takes a familiar character or seasonal symbol and develops it into a single engraved composition for glass. Scottish tradition and wider northern folklore are linked by winter, landscape and light.

The Spirits

Each design is conceived as a winter spirit, connected to a particular aspect of landscape, season or northern folklore. Some take the form of animals or figures, while others are expressed through light, movement or seasonal change.

The Deer Mother appears as a life-giver and guide, her antlers extending into branches scattered with leaves and stars. Part creature, part symbol, she occupies the space between woodland and sky.

The Constellation Stag belongs to the night itself. His body is traced through stars and movement, suggesting a creature formed from the winter sky.

The Snow Hare is shown mid-leap beneath a crescent formed from interwoven snowflakes. Long associated with thresholds and transformation, the hare becomes a symbol of winter's changing seasons.

The Holly King and Oak King introduce another strand of seasonal folklore, representing the changing balance between winter and summer through opposing but connected figures.

Cailleach brings a further Scottish folklore figure into the collection’s winter landscape.

Aurora

At the centre of the collection sits Aurora.

Aurora began with the movement of the northern lights. The northern lights have no fixed form, so the engraving was developed through layers of line, varying in height, spacing and direction to create the impression of shifting light.

Prepared as a continuous wrap-around composition, the design moves around the decanter without interruption, allowing the engraving to change as the vessel is turned and viewed from different angles.

Preparation and Engraving

Each design began as original artwork developed for sandblasted engraving.

Line, spacing and detail were developed for their behaviour on glass. Figures are often only partially described, with different elements emerging as light moves across the engraved surface.

Outcome

Together, the designs form a series of winter archetypes. Animals, seasonal figures, landscape and sky carry older stories through engraved line and form.