Emotions Frustrated. Courtesy Leicester City Gallery © Sheila Dixon

Sheila Dixon has been working with stained glass for 15 years and on Tuesday, February 7 2006 Leicester's City Gallery will be hosting an exhibition of her recent work.

Exploring Asymmetry, open until February 11 2006, showcases a range of traditional and modern techniques and explores new ways of working with glass.

Sheila’s influences range from Charles Rennie Mackintosh to John Piper and Patrick Reyntiens, whose work can be seen in the Baptistry at Coventry Cathedral.

Emotions Excited. Courtesy Leicester City Gallery © Sheila Dixon

“It was a piece by Deborah Coombs which grabbed my attention,” said Sheila, “and made me think about pieces of stained glass being a work of art in their own right and not just a way to make your front door more attractive.”

The artist began her career in a local stained glass workshop and soon set up her own business in rural Norfolk, where she worked for 12 years on private commissions.

Nowadays Sheila lives in Ashby de la Zouch and tries to keep her commissioned work to a minimum.

Autumn Haze. Courtesy Leicester City Gallery © Sheila Dixon

“For the first time, I've made pieces without the collaboration and compromise of commissioned work, and without the thought or need of making sales,” said Sheila.

“The result is a number of pieces which have been designed and made purely for their own sake and, I hope, a distinct style of my own emerging.”

The latest exhibition at The City Gallery also includes a new piece of work that has been influenced by 19th century printmaker, Aubrey Beardsley.