Indoor: A glass apart

Colour and light are the most important aspects of Sasha Ward's opaque art. Claire Gervat meets a master of abstractions

Sasha Ward knew her aim in life from an early age. "It always surprises people, but I decided when I was at school that I wanted to do stained glass." Or rather, strictly speaking, not stained glass, since she has adapted the technique to modern building methods. "I try to keep the idea and the feeling of colour, light and beauty, but I use ordinary window glass and then do things to it, such as etching or sandblasting, then hand-painting or screen-printing with transparent enamel." The effect is spectacular, more like a glass painting than painted glass.

She has a long list of private and public works to her credit. In Leeds General Infirmary, for instance, her colourful glass piece, more than 20ft across, is set in the lobby ceiling. "I've done a lot for hospitals recently - but I like creating pieces for houses and people as well."

Many of her private commissions have come from people who have seen her work by chance. For her the first step is to visit the clients at home. "I have done commissions through the post, but I wanted to work in and for buildings. It's important for me to make sure the window fits in with the whole place."

The key elements to discuss are the colours and technicalities, such as how much light needs to come through the glass. If it's intended to hide a horrible view, for instance, it may have to be almost opaque. Sasha comments: "I've learnt a lot about the effects I can get with stripes or dots, sandblasting or texture. It's often those sort of abstract qualities that I talk about with people, and only then whether there is something like a theme - as long as I'm allowed to twist it my own way."

For her preliminary drawings she often works in watercolour, which makes perfect sense when you see the finished glass with its washes of colour built up in layers. It's also a clue to a wider artistic education. "I chose my first college because I could do stained glass there. But then I thought, 'I want to do fine art', because the important thing for me in a way was the colour, imagery and interesting ideas. So I did a fine art degree and then went back to do glass at the Royal College of Art."

For domestic-sized pieces, Sasha charges pounds 200 per square foot, a price she admits hasn't changed in 10 years. Larger works cost less per foot as there's proportionately less design time. The whole commissioning process takes about two months. Sasha has the nous to realise that people who have spent several hundred pounds on a work of art may not want to leave it behind when they move, so she's devised a special wire hanging system, too.

She is currently rebuilding her studio. "It's leaking, and I've decided it's cheaper to knock it down. I'll be able to have my own massive kiln there, and do really large pieces. I'm looking forward to it, because I still like the 'hands-on' bit more than doing designs for other people to make up."

She also has a continuing relationship with the Russell-Cotes Art Gallery and Museum in Bournemouth, which has old stained glass. "The next one is a ceiling, which is going to have water trickling on the outside over the textured glass."

As for the public reaction to her larger works: "If you produce a painting of nothing, people tend to say, 'that's nothing'. But if it's glass of nothing, they seem to think that's fine. And if they can't work out what it is, it doesn't worry them."

Sasha Ward is at 19 Salisbury Road, Marlborough, Wiltshire SN8 4AD (01672 515638).