Lene Bødker

Glass sculptor

©Gaétane Girard

©Anders Sune Berg

©Gaétane Girard

Playing with light

Lene masters the lost wax casting technique
She is inspired by nature and organic shapes
She received the Kanazawa Glass Award

Lene Bødker is the first Dane ever won the prestigious Kanazawa Glass Award. She masters the lost wax casting technique, a complex and demanding working process, both with regards to the preparation of the mould, the glass melting and cooling process itself, as well as treating the surface of the sculpture. Lene then works on the structured outside with a hammer and chisel, which causes a vivid play, while the flat parts are cut, ground and polished. Through them the viewers can immerse themselves in the interior of the sculpture. Lene's mould blown cylindrical pieces often refer to nature. She uses a combination of transparent and opalescent layers to give the outside of her objects a vivid appearance.

Interview

©Anders Sune Berg

©Anders Sune Berg

Does your background as ceramicist influence you?: Clay gives me the freedom to be in a creative flow during the creation of the model that later leads to the glass sculpture. In this sensual process, I devote myself to the clay and let my hands speak.
What is the lost wax casting technique?: The technique is similar to bronze casting. First you make the clay model, then the wax model, the casting mould which goes into the kiln is filled with glass pellets and finally the cooling process lasts a month to avoid tension in the glass.
How do you work with the colour?: As with most of my creative work, it is a matter of intuition. The choice of colour is linked to the character of the surface: should it be matte, transparent, semi-matte or carved. Each of these surface types plays with light.
How do you work with Czech glassblowers?: After years of concentrating my skills on the lost wax glass technique, for the mould blowing I am dependent on help from Czech glassblowers. They are very skilled and I have worked with them for years.

Lene Bødker is a master artisan: she began her career in 1992 and she started teaching in 1986