Eirin Bjørsland Hansen

Formbar Glassverksted

Glassblower

©Jerry Kung

©Kristoffer Vincent

The glow of glass

Eirin uses repetition and movement to create her glass pieces
She admires Olafur Eliasson’s and Anish Kapoor’s work with scale
Bowls are one of her favourite functional objects to make

It was on a high-school field trip to the Norwegian island Hennigsvær, a beautiful small fishing village, that Eirin Bjørsland Hansen first set foot into a small glass studio. The liquid, glowing material fascinated her and after a chance meeting with two female glassblowers in Tromsø, she decided to enrol in a three-year course at the National School of Glass in Orrefors in Sweden followed by taking a Bachelor's at The Royal Danish Academy in Architecture, Design, and Conservation. Since making her first object, a small bowl with glass frits, Eirin opened the glass studio Formbar Glassverksted with her two associates in 2017. Formbar is licensed as an official apprentice studio and currently trains one apprentice for two years.

Interview

©Kristoffer Vincent

©Kristoffer Vincent

How would you define what you do?: My work alternates between the functional and the sculptural. The sculptural part of the work draws inspiration intuitively from my own emotional life and focuses on movement and repetition.
How do you express tradition and innovation?: Glassblowing is an old tradition, and it is difficult to make something that someone never made before. An essential aspect of the artistic process with glass is the exploration of the possibilities of the material and by using repetition in my work, I try to create unique glass sculptures and installations.
Which specific techniques do you master?: With my Scandinavian background, I have experience with traditional glass techniques like graal, Swedish foot file and mould blowing. I also know my way around different grinding tools, making wax moulds and hot blow moulds, glass casting and fusing.
What do you love most about your profession?: The teamwork and the collaboration between artists is quite unique. There is so much you can do with glass and I love the diversity of glass artists worldwide. It is also very satisfying to have an idea, draw it and then be able to make it in glass.

Eirin Bjørsland Hansen is an expert artisan she began her career in 2010