Meet the Maker – Therese Wicks

“I HAVE always been creative from a child”, says Therese Wicks. Therese is a stained-glass artist living in Caversham. We met at the Caversham Artists’ and Makers’ Fair, and intrigued to learn more about her creative journey, I visited her in her studio. It is fair to say Therese has had an interesting life. I found we had something in common, having both begun our careers as nurses – Therese trained at Wexham Park Hospital.
After having a family, Therese felt she needed to learn a new skill, so went to evening classes and completed a Study Start Course. This led to an access course in Art and Design, and then a Post Graduate Diploma in Art Psychotherapy, a field in which Therese practised for 15 years, chiefly with children. She also has a City and Guilds qualification. Other ventures include running a nursing home and a takeaway burger outlet!
Therese finds working with glass captures the intensity of colour in a way that she can’t with paint and her stained-glass career started out with commissions and restorations. You may have seen her work, as she is a regular exhibitor on the Caversham Arts Trail. Stained glass is heavy to transport and difficult to display, so Therese has begun to work with fused glass and, as we chatted next to her kiln, she describes how nail-biting it is waiting to see the end results of her work. Theresa says her inspiration often comes from something she is reading, and she ‘just sort of doodles’.
The results of her doodling are beautiful, as I observed just looking around her house. To meet Theresa and see first-hand her talent for working with glass, you can find her at the Caversham Artists’ and Makers’ Fair on the second Saturday of the month at Gosbrook Road Methodist Church and at the Caversham Arts trail next year. With the festive season approaching, I am sure you can find a beautiful and original gift for someone, created with love, in Caversham.