Florence lives in a small village near the coast in North Norfolk. She works on her fused glasswork in a studio at home, often accompanied by her cat Dixie.
Florence was born in Pajapita in the highlands of Guatemala, not far from the Mexican border. When she was 11 months old she was adopted and came to live in Norfolk.
As a young child Florence loved nature and all creatures were a source of creative ideas for her drawings. She also found music and art to be helpful forms of expression and joined a successful percussion group called Trix ‘n’ Stix, playing with them for several years. Florence still enjoys drumming at home on her drum kit and dancing, as ways of relaxing.
Jaguar by Florence North
CV & Influences
Florence attended Alderman Peel High School in Wells-next-the-Sea, and had a lot of encouragement to use her Guatemalan history and Mayan heritage in her art studies.
Florence studied conservation and wildlife at Easton College and then took an art and design Course at Wensum Lodge in Norwich. The course explored different creative cultures including Ancient Egyptian, Medieval and Celtic art as well as Pop Art, Art Nouveau and graphic design, using the resources of the Norwich Castle Museum and the Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts.
Gold Mayan Temple by Florence North
In 2015 Florence went to see the exhibition MAYAS, Revelation of An Endless Time as part of The Year of Mexico in the United Kingdom at the World Museum in Liverpool. This was a revelation for Florence too and gave her inspiration to use in her own work.
Florence was introduced to The Belfry Arts Centre in Overstrand run by Nora Gaston, which specialised in contemporary glass with exhibitions and workshops organised by professional glass artists. Florence began developing her ideas using fused and cast glass, sgraffitto and slumping methods. The different techniques opened her eyes to the various ways of interpreting her ideas through her glasswork.
Florence owes her enthusiasm and commitment to creative glasswork to Nora’s calm encouragement.
