Soft / Solid

Client Name

self-initiated

Year

2023

Project Details

Material Research & Surface Design

Project Scope

exploring colour in mouthblown glass

“Soft / Solid” is a tantalising exploration of colour in mouthblown and hand-sculpted glass, created during a short glass residency in Sweden. Immersed in the artistic landscape of Sweden, I delved into the unknown realm of glass as a medium. The journey was an exploration of the nuances and intersections between liquid glass and supple textiles, seamlessly applying colour within the translucent beauty of glass.

Guided by the interplay of opaque and transparent hues that effortlessly blend together, I created glass objects that embody Kukka’s unmistakable style: vibrant colour blocks, subtle colour gradients and a bold graphic signature.

Glass Residency Sweden

exploring glass in Boda Glasbruk

In October 2023 I visited Sweden for a 1-week artist-in-residence at The Glass Factory Boda. Completely uninhibited I delved into the captivating world of glass, specifically focusing on its colour and material properties. Rather than striving for a final product, my goal was to conduct studies in glass.

Working without moulds was very important to me during my first introduction to glass, I wanted to focus on the craft. Using moulds went too much towards (re)production for me. I did use one of the optical moulds just to add texture and pattern to the surface of the blown glass.

I let myself be led by everything I saw, heard, smelled and felt. Working from my senses and intuition, not from preconceived knowledge or ideas.

The unpredictable behaviour of the colours during melting and hot working makes each piece unique. To make a vase, colours of molten glass are dipped in a thin layer of transparent glass and blown by mouth and shaped and opened freehand. After cooling overnight in the annealer, the final colour is finally revealed.