Interview with a Glassblower

Interviewer: Nina, most people picture glassblowing as something dramatic, with fire and sparks. Is that fair?

Interviewer: Nina, most people picture glassblowing as something dramatic, with fire and sparks. Is that fair?

Nina Kovac: Partly. The furnace is certainly hot, about twelve hundred degrees, and there is a certain theatre to it. But what surprises visitors is how calm the work is. If you panic, the glass tells you immediately. It sags, it cracks, it goes crooked. The best days in the studio are the quiet ones.

Nina Kovac: Partly. The furnace is certainly hot, about twelve hundred degrees, and there is a certain theatre to it. But what surprises visitors is how calm the work is. If you panic, the glass tells you immediately. It sags, it cracks, it goes crooked. The best days in the studio are the quiet ones.

Interviewer: How did you begin?

Interviewer: How did you begin?

Nina Kovac: By accident, really. I was studying chemistry, and a friend dragged me to a short evening course. I expected to be bored. Instead I made a lopsided little bowl, and I was so proud of it that I carried it home on my lap on the bus. I still have it. It is the ugliest object in my house, and I would never part with it.

Nina Kovac: By accident, really. I was studying chemistry, and a friend dragged me to a short evening course. I expected to be bored. Instead I made a lopsided little bowl, and I was so proud of it that I carried it home on my lap on the bus. I still have it. It is the ugliest object in my house, and I would never part with it.

Interviewer: What is the hardest part of learning the craft?

Interviewer: What is the hardest part of learning the craft?

Nina Kovac: Patience, without question. Glass cannot be rushed. You have to turn the pipe constantly, you have to judge the temperature by colour, and you have to accept that the material has its own opinions. For the first two years I broke something nearly every day. A teacher once told me that you are not a glassblower until you have thrown away a thousand pieces. I think I reached that number around my second winter.

Nina Kovac: Patience, without question. Glass cannot be rushed. You have to turn the pipe constantly, you have to judge the temperature by colour, and you have to accept that the material has its own opinions. For the first two years I broke something nearly every day. A teacher once told me that you are not a glassblower until you have thrown away a thousand pieces. I think I reached that number around my second winter.

Interviewer: That sounds discouraging.

Interviewer: That sounds discouraging.

Nina Kovac: It was, at times. But failure in this job is very concrete, and that makes it useful. When a vase breaks, you can see exactly where the thickness was uneven or the cooling was too fast. In an office, mistakes are often invisible and argued about for weeks. In my studio they simply lie on the floor and teach you.

Nina Kovac: It was, at times. But failure in this job is very concrete, and that makes it useful. When a vase breaks, you can see exactly where the thickness was uneven or the cooling was too fast. In an office, mistakes are often invisible and argued about for weeks. In my studio they simply lie on the floor and teach you.

Interviewer: Do you work alone?

Interviewer: Do you work alone?

Nina Kovac: Rarely. Large pieces need a team of three or four, and everyone must know their role without speaking much. It is a bit like a small orchestra. You learn to trust people’s hands. Some of my closest friendships began over a shared piece of glowing glass.

Nina Kovac: Rarely. Large pieces need a team of three or four, and everyone must know their role without speaking much. It is a bit like a small orchestra. You learn to trust people’s hands. Some of my closest friendships began over a shared piece of glowing glass.

Interviewer: Is the craft in danger of disappearing?

Interviewer: Is the craft in danger of disappearing?

Nina Kovac: I do not think so, although it has changed. Fewer people make everyday glassware by hand, since machines are cheaper. But there is growing interest in objects with a human trace, even a small flaw. Customers often tell me they chose a particular bowl precisely because it was not perfect.

Nina Kovac: I do not think so, although it has changed. Fewer people make everyday glassware by hand, since machines are cheaper. But there is growing interest in objects with a human trace, even a small flaw. Customers often tell me they chose a particular bowl precisely because it was not perfect.

Interviewer: What would you say to someone thinking of trying it?

Interviewer: What would you say to someone thinking of trying it?

Nina Kovac: Book a beginner’s workshop and expect to be bad at it. Wear sensible shoes, tie your hair back, and listen more than you talk. And do not throw away your first attempt, however ugly it is. One day it will remind you of how far you have come.

Nina Kovac: Book a beginner’s workshop and expect to be bad at it. Wear sensible shoes, tie your hair back, and listen more than you talk. And do not throw away your first attempt, however ugly it is. One day it will remind you of how far you have come.