Gérald Vatrin

Glassblower

©Amadou Traore

©J.C.Martinez

The travelling glass artist

Gérald has a background in drawing, which informs his glasswork
He seeks give glass the illusion of being leather, stone or clay
He engraves motifs on the glass using dental tools

It took Gérald Vatrin six months of trying various materials to discover that glass was the material for him. He undertook internships with artisans in pottery, stone carving and other materials, until one day he encountered a glassblower. He went on to learn glassblowing at the CERFAV training school near Nancy, and during the second year of his studies he was accepted at the CIRVA glass centre in Marseille, where he worked on his ideas with high level glass technicians. Represented by Maison Parisienne since 2009, his craft has taken him all over the world, from Australia to the Czech Republic to Africa. Along the way he has cultivated his own way of working with glass, developing his personal styles and techniques to inform his unique creations.

Interview

©J.C.Martinez

©Amadou Traore

What attracted you to glass?: The complexity of the material. What really impressed me is its transformation; it can be liquid and solid at the same time. It creates a symbiotic relationship, we have to accompany it from start to finish in one go to create a piece.
How did you get started?: I opened my first workshop in Marseille and started making my first creations. Right away, they were derived from my travels. The images I see and the things that inspire me when travelling translate into my engravings, while the forms of the objects remain pure and simple.
What specific technique have you mastered?: I created my own technique of flexible engraving which I developed to be able to engrave the glass with intricate and complex motifs. I actually use tools from dentistry, which are more precise. It is something that has never been done before, and now I teach this technique.
How did you discover dentistry tools?: I was using traditional engraving tools. After a serious hand injury, I could no longer work with my machines. My father, a dental technician, lent me some tools. They were like pens, I could literally draw my designs on to the glass – it was a revelation.

Gérald Vatrin is a master artisan: he began his career in 1997 and he started teaching in 2005