Resonance of Raw by Thalea Schmalenberg

Vase / Design Conceptual

Published: 19.11.2020

Limited serie: 5/6
Blown glass.

In her project "The Resonance of Raw", Thalea Schmalenberg deals with the combination of traditional craftsmanship and regional materials on the appearance of products. The visibility of traces on the material due to the manual production method should lead to an awareness of traditional material qualities and manufacturing processes. These should encourage a more conscious consumption of everyday objects. The project is dedicated to the combination of basket weaving and glass. Basket weaving, through which storage and transport vessels were created, offered itself for the investigations as one of the oldest crafts. Handed down early is the combination of clay or glass vessels and wickerwork, with the latter forming a protective cover around the fragile vessel. Theresa Schmalenberg took up this idea and modified it to the extent that the once protective wickerwork cover becomes a form-giving element. Her aim was to try out the shape and process design of serial objects together with the glassmaker Peter Kuchinke. The wickerwork functioned as a molding tool in the manual glass production process. Their experiments testify to the influence of the different types of basketry with regard to structural properties, durability, and aesthetic effect. The glass is blown into the plaited shape and adopts its silhouette and surface texture.