Vierailin Glasremis-lasistudiossa Penevezysissä, Liettuan
koillisosassa, tutustuakseni liettualaiseen studiolasikulttuuriin.
Glasremis studio pähkinänkuoressa:
- Glasremisin perusti Remigijus Kriukas vuonna 2000.
- Yrityksessä työskentelee 20 henkilöä.
- Studiossa on 3 lasiuunia, 2 trummelia, 3 puhalluspenkkiä, 2
jäähdytysuunia, parkkiuuni ja kylmätyöstölaitteet.
- Glasremis järjestää
kansainvälisen Glass Jazz -symposiumin joka toinen vuosi, viimeksi vuona
2016.
I am starting my trip to Glasremis studio in the beginning of
January from Vilnius capital city of Lithuania. It takes around 2 hours to
reach my destination Panevezys, the small town in North-West Lithuania.
Panevezys became important industrial center during the soviet times. One of
the most important factories “Ekranas“ was producing colorful cinescopes for
television screens and crystal glassware, unfortunately, because of the fast
new technologies development the factory was closed at 2006 and around 4000
workers lost their jobs. The same happened with sugar, alcohol, textile, meat
and glass factories, which were completely closed.
Glasremis studio was founded in 2000 by well known Lithuanian
glass artist Remigijus Kriukas. The artist realized that together with
reconstruction of Panevezys glass factory the traditions and skills gained in
field of art glass making going to be lost. The workers simply would not have
other place to work. So the rise of Glass remis studio provided the new working
places for former factory workers in the fields of hot glass shaping and cold
working and ensured to preserve the traditions and skills of previous art glass
manufacturing.
At the moment in Glasremis studio the 21 skillful people crew
is working in hotshop and cold working area, both located in the industrial
part of the Panevezys town. Besides working area studio has its own
administration, art gallery and production-sales gallery. Furthermore Glasremis
is the organizer of international glass symposium “Glass Jazz“, which is held
in Panevezys every second summer.
The first impression after entering Glasremis studio is the
interior mostly done by architect and a friend Kestutis Indriunas, full of
details such as welded metal railings and stylish lightning system in the
production and sales gallery. Studio can be proud of cooperation with large
number of countries around the World including Europe, Asia and United States
of America, however the atmosphere of the studio is very cozy and has a twist
of indie look. While following administrator to the second floor I am trying to
imagine how it would have looked like if it still would be just a part of the
ordinary factory, perhaps quite differently.
In the second floor I enter the gallery full of massive glass
objects made by various techniques. The exposition is rich by different colors,
shapes and structures glass - casted and cold worked glass pieces, mostly
designed by Indrė Stulgaitė-Kriukienė and Remigijus Kriukas and produced by
Glasremis studio team. Next to art gallery there is another gallery – show room
designed and suitable for commercial side of production, which shares a window
with hot glass workshop in the first floor. So, while trying to choose the
product you are welcomed to have a look on how actually the pieces are
produced. I can feel the smell of the burning wood coming from the workshop,
the long room is full of smoke and glass is illuminated by many lamps hanging
from the ceiling. The gallery wall made of shelves full of glass shines so it
is easy to loose yourself for a while just observing myriads of colorful
reflections. Glass has his own magic, which simply takes you in. After a short
moment I let myself be enchanted by glass and once again I continue my tour to
the first floor.

In the small room full of grinding machines gray from
carborundum and glass dust lie large pieces of glass in different stages of
coldworking process. While I look at Remigijus Kriukas and Indrė
Stulgaitė-Kriukienė art works I can imagine how busy the cold workshop is. The
large pieces of glass casted or hot shaped nee a lot of grinding till they
reach the final phase.
Even in this afternoon when workshop is almost empty the
walls full of drawings, stickers and posters talk about people who are working
there. Somehow it is, that small details easily tell a very precise
characteristic of people working or living there. The larger the space is, the
more dispersed the features are. Even without physical meeting of the workers
there I meet them through fast sketches and photographs on the walls. It feels
like being in the abode of people who know each other for a long time.
Finally I’m passing to the hot workshop which is next door to
the cold workshop. Even the working hours are going to the end the workshop is
busy. One of the oldest worker in the team admits that workers are welcomed to
use the workshop for their own projects by the free time and looks pretty happy
and exciting to continue the work even the day is close to finish. They receive
quite moderate salaries, but workers are motivated to express themselves, to
realize own projects and not just to reproduce glassware day after day. “I have been working here with hot glass
around 36 years“, he says and opens the door of one of the three working
furnaces standing next to each other in the center of the room. The furnaces
are built by owners and team workers by themselves after American engineer
plans modifying them and adding extra details. The glass batch arrives from
Hollands.
In the workshop there are three benches and two glory holes,
a kiln and two big annealers to cool down the glass objects. The atmosphere in
the workshop is very free and relaxed even the tasks are often difficult and
requires attention, the team has the long years of experience by working
together so it looks if everything goes very smoothly, if it would not require
any effort.
After placing the rose into annealer next to beautifully made
paper weights I thank and tell good bye for Glasremis studio. I leave thinking
about constant methamorphosis of this World and its reflections in one of the
most flexible materials - glass.