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Glassmaker
Factory
Glassmaker Factory, run
by the Szklarska Poręba
Communal Centre for Culture,
Sports and Local Activity,
is a project that meets the
needs of many of the town’s
communities. For hundreds
of years Szklarska Poręba
flourished as the centre of
glass making and mineral
prospecting. This continued
until the closure of Julia, the
local glassworks. The town’s
glass-making traditions are
now falling into oblivion, but
the former glassworkers still
feel very sentimental about
this art form.
o
ur glass workshops were inspired
by the region’s glassmaking
tradition and an attempt
to preserve the memories of residents
of Szklarska Poręba. As many families in the
town have glass-making roots, we decided to
“return to glass”, starting with the simplest
form – the glass mosaic.
This technique has unlimited creative
potential, allowing to arrange bits of tinted
glass into beautiful patterns. Glass is a challenging
but marvellous material, it encourages
creativity, especially in children and young
people. Even a pretty random arrangement
of a few pieces of glass can look good, stir
imaginations, teach patience and encourage
further work.
In the workshops, under the watchful
eye of experts, everyone had the chance
to create their own glasswork. Participants
came up with widely varying patterns and
compositions, combining glass with the local
minerals amethyst and agate.
the project
Glassmaker Factory was a programme of
workshops held between September 16,
2009 and November 4, 2011. Participants
created work that explored four subjects, My
Angel, Agate Mountains, In the Mirror of Colours,
and Mosaic like a Legendary Fairy Tale.
In addition to the workshops, lectures and
talks were held – historians talked about the
history of glass while local artists and glassworkers
discussed glass recycling, waste
segregation, glasswork techniques and modern-day
glass production technologies. The
6-week workshops culminated in an exhibition
of work of the budding glassmakers held
in the Bornit Hotel in Szklarska Poręba. The
project was created by the staff of the Communal
Centre for Culture, Sports and Local
Activity: Ewa Brenda, Anna Januszczak and
Edyta Kulla, an Academy of Fine Arts graduate
who runs a glass and stained-glass studio
in Jelenia Góra.
target groups
The project was geared toward all Szklarska
Poręba residents aged over 10: older
Photo: Sabina Nowakowska