I’m Danni, an award-winning contemporary artist working with the rare heritage craft of Verre-églomisé — painting and gilding onto the reverse of glass.

My work is rooted in a love of nature, particularly the wildlife and small details that are so easily overlooked. I’m drawn to the character of a moth, the flash of a kingfisher, the movement of fish beneath the surface, or the determined way a wild plant finds a way to grow. These moments often become the starting point for my pieces.

There is something about working with glass and gold that feels perfectly suited to the natural world. Light becomes part of the artwork, catching the precious metal and moving across the surface as you move around it. What appears simple at first can reveal layers, reflections and details the longer you look.

The process itself is a little unusual. Everything is created on the back of the glass, building the image in reverse, layer by layer. There is very little room for correction, so each mark has to be considered before the next layer is applied. It is an incredibly slow and absorbing way to work — and one I never seem to tire of.

I’m passionate about keeping this beautiful heritage craft alive, but I’m equally interested in where it can go next. My aim is not to recreate the past, but to take the traditional techniques of Verre-églomisé and give them a contemporary voice through my love of wildlife, colour, light and storytelling.

Ultimately, I want my work to give people a reason to pause.

To look closer.

And perhaps, just for a moment, to see the natural world a little differently.

My journey

My journey into Verre-églomisé wasn’t entirely planned.

I’ve always been drawn to making things by hand and to the quiet concentration that comes with working with materials. Over time, my love of illustration, colour and nature led me towards gilding and, eventually, to the fascinating world of gilded glass.

There was something about Verre-églomisé that immediately captivated me. The idea of creating an image on the back of a piece of glass, knowing that everything had to be built in reverse, felt both wonderfully old-fashioned and completely magical. I became fascinated by the discipline of the process and by the way light could become part of the finished artwork.

As I spent more time learning the traditional techniques, I began experimenting and developing my own way of working. I wanted to move beyond reproducing historical decorative work and explore what this beautiful craft could become when combined with my love of contemporary art and wildlife.

That exploration has become the heart of my practice.

Over the years, my work has grown from small experiments with gold and glass into larger, more ambitious pieces, from tiny moths and butterflies to shoals of fish, birds and the wildlife that surrounds us. I’m constantly looking for new ways to use the properties of glass, precious metal and reflected light to bring these subjects to life.

My studio practice has also given me the opportunity to share the craft with others through exhibitions, demonstrations and teaching. I feel incredibly fortunate to be part of a community working to keep traditional skills alive, particularly at a time when many heritage crafts are becoming increasingly rare.

For me, preserving a craft doesn't mean leaving it in the past.

It means continuing to learn from it, respecting where it came from, and finding new ways for it to speak to people today.

That is what I hope to do with my work — take an extraordinary old technique and use it to tell contemporary stories about the natural world. And I’m still exploring where that journey might lead.

Verre-églomisé — painting and gilding on the reverse of glass

Verre-églomisé is an ancient decorative technique in which an image is painted and gilded onto the reverse of a sheet of glass. Seen from the front, the glass protects the delicate layers beneath it, creating an extraordinary sense of depth, luminosity and reflection.

It is a wonderfully unforgiving way to work.

Because the image is built backwards, the details you want to see at the front have to be created first. Colours, highlights, shadows, outlines and gilded elements all have to be carefully considered before the next layer is applied. Once the glass is turned over, there is no going back to change a brushstroke.

Gold plays a particularly important role in my work. I use precious metal leaf alongside paint to create areas that catch and reflect the light, allowing the artwork to change subtly throughout the day. A piece can look completely different in soft morning light, bright sunshine or under evening lamps.

This relationship between glass, gold and light is one of the things I love most about the process.

Keeping an old craft moving forward

Verre-églomisé is a rare ‘Red listed’ heritage craft, and some of the traditional skills associated with gilding and decorating glass are increasingly at risk of being lost.

I feel very lucky to work with these techniques and have a responsibility to treat them with care. But I don't believe that keeping a heritage craft alive means simply recreating what has gone before.

For me, it means understanding the traditional methods, respecting the skill and knowledge behind them, and then finding new ways to use them.

My work brings this historic craft together with contemporary wildlife art, allowing me to explore subjects that matter to me — nature, biodiversity, fragility and the extraordinary detail of the world around us.

The technique may be centuries old.

The stories I want to tell with it are very much of our time. 

Want to know more?

If you'd like to explore my exhibitions, talks, demonstrations, workshops and other milestones,

you can find my full professional history here. View my history →