Themis Mikellides

Themis Mikellides

Born in Oxford, the son of an architectural-psychologist Don at Oxford University, Themis became a dedicated artist from an early age. After completing his foundation course at the North Oxfordshire college of art, where he discovered his love for colour and light, he enrolled in the three year Architectural-stained glass course at the recognised institute in Swansea, South Wales.

Glass is a magical substance that changes from moment to moment depending on the weather, times of the day and the four seasons.

As a medium is much more alive than a canvas, it's like a translucent membrane and can dramatically transform the space around it. Working with the effects of pure colour as a form of expression, stained glass offers itself as a perfect vehicle.

In times past stained glass was mainly pictorial, this was a necessity to depict stories of the bible to illiterate people. In this day and age, especially since the advent of photography, I feel it's important to work on a more abstract level allowing the viewer to see what they want instead of being dictated to.

Just like the medieval glass of the past that was hailed for its magnificence with its perfect marriage of lead (craft) with the design (art). I am trying to reinterpret stained glass for this day and age, as they did in the art and crafts movement of the turn of the last century.