Anne Donze & Vincent Chagnon

Glassblower

When two continents melt in glass

Anne and Vincent's art is the result of training in two different cultures
Their works contain social themes and messages
They each have 20 years of experience working with glass

From two different continents, Europe and North America, Anne Donze and Vincent Chagnon bring together their different heritages in glass work. Anne brings her knowledge of jewellery and glass designing to the partnership whereas Vincent's background is as a glass artist. The union between these two specialties reveal collections of unusual blown glass pieces each of which incorporates their individual talents. After literary studies, Anne devoted herself to the decorative arts. She began to create jewels, continuing her studies at the Centre Européen de Recherches et de Formation aux Arts Verriers, in Lorraine. Vincent has been an artist since 2002. Always in search of new techniques, he worked in the Czech Republic, in several laboratories in France, and taught at the Upper School of the Arts of the Rhine, in Strasbourg.

Interview

Where does this passion for glass come from?: Even in Canada there is an artistic tradition linked to glass, its roots are in the Italian immigrants who brought this knowledge with them. Before I discovered this tradition of glass crafts, I worked leather. But glass caught my attention and I haven't been tempted to go back.
Is your art linked to a particular place?: My works are inspired by my extensive travels, so it is true to say they are linked to the countries I have visited, the people I have known and the things I have seen and learned. Travel has greatly contributed to my education, but there isn't just one place or one time that inspired me.
Do you think your craft is in danger?: Covid changed many things. On the one hand there is a general reconnection with making things and using our own limbs, on the other hand there are huge pressures on us all. Political decisions coming out of the pandemic will have a big influence on the ability of the craft to survive.
What do you like most about your craft?: I really love the creative part, the one in which you see the idea take form and shape. It is almost as though you see the hands reading my thoughts and making them real and concrete.

Anne Donze & Vincent Chagnon are master artisans: they began their career in 2002 and they started teaching in 2015