Weaving Light and Structure in Japanese Glass Art | Takeoka Kensuke’s Woven Glass

I'm Takeyoka, a glass artist working in Toyama Prefecture. Today I would like to talk a little bit about the works I'm collaborating on with Musubi Kiln, and what I think about as an individual glass artist while working with this material every day. Glass is actually a material with relatively short history. Unlike with metalwork or ceramics, there aren't completely established techniques for everything. That's the greatest difficulty. When shaping glass, you can't touch it directly with your hands, because you're always working on it through tools. It's unpredictable. What's happening inside the electric furnace right now, there are many parts you can't be sure about until the very end when the cooling is finished. The situation changes so quickly too. It's not something you can take your time with. Once you remove the glass from the furnace, it cools and cracks within seconds. That's why speed becomes vital. That sense of tension is also what makes this work interesting. From the start, I've always liked things that change over time. Like bamboo baskets, wild grapevine baskets, or leather wallets. Things that develop a luster and mould to your hands the more you use them. Glass is a material that does not change over time. But adding the act of weaving to it, I wanted to express a kind of morph. From two-dimensional, to three-dimensional, then back to two-dimensional. I've always been fascinated by that cycle, when you softly lay down a piece of cloth and the natural expressiveness of the fibres. I want to convey that using inorganic glass. I started making miso sashi water jars two years ago. I wanted to challenge myself to create tools that can be used in daily life. Integrating the weave and the inner layer of the glass requires thorough temperature control. If the weave alone is too soft, the texture melts away. If the inner part alone is too soft, the weave will tear. I struggle at first to find the exact right temperature. I don't especially calculate how the light will shine through the glass, but when the light hits from directly above or behind and I see the shadows it casts, I think that really is nice. I like things that feel good when you touch them. It's not just about using them. I value the kind of texture that feels right in your hands. If my work brings a smile to a person using it, that would make me truly happy. Toyama is a truly fortunate place for studying glass. It has both the facilities and the people gathered here from all over the world. Someday I want to challenge myself with a large-scale installation. Arranging and hanging many sheets of woven glass. That's the kind of world I hope to create.