Jaroslav Prošek

Glass sculptor

©Crystal Caviar

From the technical to the artistic

Jaroslav creates sculptures using cut and mould melted glass
He has been making his own work since 2010
He enjoys the interplay between shape and colour

After leaving secondary school, Jaroslav Prošek worked in the technical departments of several companies. His hidden talent for glass art was discovered when he started to work at Czech glass company Crystal Caviar. Through learning by doing he gradually mastered the very complex craft of glass art, across different glass disciplines. Self-taught, he has no formal artistic education, but in recent years has developed his own personal artistic expression by creating sculptures of mould melted glass, where simple shapes are combined with coloured glass.

Interview

What triggered your passion for glass?: I was always manually skilled, and in different technical jobs I learned to fix almost any problem. When I started at Crystal Caviar, assisting with the production of glass sculptures, my approach to glass changed completely. I discovered an object can be not only well made, but also have an artistic idea behind it.
Did you learn from any master?: At the start I learned basic skills from several excellent glass cutters, and later from glass artist Vlastimil Beránek. He works with mould casting, and his inspiration comes from nature and the sea. I seek inspiration in similar areas and, like him, make a wooden model first, using it to create the final sculpture.
What techniques do you use?: I work mostly with mould melting and cold techniques such as cutting, grinding, engraving, sandblasting. The choice of technique depends on the shape and expression I wish to achieve. I'm keen to experiment with new possibilities of surface treatment, like chiselling.
Is colour important to you?: Yes, indeed. Now and then I feel like Alice in Wonderland coming to Crystal Caviar's great storage full of raw glass and choosing from the vast selection of colours. Very interesting colour effects can be obtained by metal coating the surfaces.

Jaroslav Prošek is an expert artisan: he began his career in 2010