Imagery from Alison Berger Glassworks

I thought I’d bring a little craft into the fold today as we’ve both been pursuing our own creative projects recently and I was hugely inspired by the work of Alison Berger and the skill she has developed in making handblown glass. Based in Los Angles, Alison’s professional background was initially in architecture having worked for Bausman-Gill associates and the Frank O. Gehry studio for a number of years before eventually focusing on glass design full time in 1995. She had however been working with the material from the age of 15 and since making the transition professionally Alison has really left her mark on the medium, producing works for the likes of Rei Kawakubo (founder of Comme des Garçons) and international superstar Madonna, also becoming the first American artist to create a line of accessories for the venerable French fashion house, Hermès.

Drawing inspiration from 4th century roman glass, old scientific instruments and flee market finds of her own, Alison creates timeless objects that feel both distinct and universal. Through educating herself on processes that are no longer used she can create objects that can’t be made by her peers, and it’s this desire to create individuality with a convergence of ideas that really sets her apart as an artist. I recently watched a short film on Alison and in this she explains that her biggest task is presented in creating form with a combination of shapes, given that you can create quite an effective simple design with coloured glass, mastering a complex form and making it look simple is where the skill really lies.

Hearing this conversation over actually reminded me an awful lot of the famous freeform shape that Alvar Aalto created, which looks easy on the eye and simplistic, yet when you consider it this isn’t a simple shape to create. After hearing this I started to consider how I thought each object would have been created in Alison’s portfolio and very quickly became a big fan of what she has created thus far. Hopefully after seeing what we have here you too are a little intrigued and ready to rummage through Alison’s portfolio, I’ll leave the link for this just below and I trust you won’t be disappointed by what you find. Enjoy!

www.alisonbergerglassworks.com

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