Izabela Dziepak

The glass quality that I work to achieve is opaque or translucent glass with its surface covered with crystals and resembling polished semi-precious minerals, veined with a spectrum of dark contrasting hues. Therefore, my methodology is based on exploration of the technological potential of glass to realise my formal aims. My research in coloured glass concerns the possibility of depicting glass flow by means of the multi-coloured patterns' arrangement. 

In crystals, for instance, different layers of colour reflect nothing more than the course of growth; the happening of time. I consider glass to be a material that allows reconsideration of the processes similar to that of the crystals’ formation but in a limited amount of time.

The Lithyalin colouring glass technique invented by Friedrich Egermann in 1828 is the principal inspiration that pushed my research further. Initially I focused on a simple method of fusion for glasses with different viscosities, which relates to pâte-de-verre principles developed by the French Art Nouveau artists including Emile Gallé and Almeric Walter. Subsequently I based my research on recent scientific data concerning colouring formulas of Ancient Egyptian glass production, using raw materials to obtain two background hues for my patterned structures: crimson red ‘dsr’ and indigo ‘hsbd’ vailed with black ‘km’.

The evolution of the human brain may be linked with the development of the hand as a precision instrument, which extends sensory processes of thinking. With this in mind, to enhance visual and multisensory experience I create hand-sized sculptures, perceived and apprehended by touch in motion