A bouquet of emotions
- Lilla creates glass flowers that express human feelings
- She was awarded the Talent du Luxe prize in the category ‘Harmonie’
- Her work is inspired by glass artists Rudolph and Leopold Blaschka
In 2000, when Lilla Tabasso decided to abandon her biology studies to dedicate herself to the art of glass, several master glassmakers in Murano advised her to give up, saying “it’s too complicated,” she explains with a smile. However, she did not give up and today she is internationally recognised for her splendid floral sculptures. When the Centre du Luxe et de la Création in Paris awarded her the prestigious Talent du Luxe prize she saw it as “an acknowledgement that has rewarded me for the many sacrifices I had to make. At the same time, it’s payback against those who thought I would never succeed because I am a woman, and glassmaking is considered to be a man’s craft.”
Discover her work
INTERVIEW
I made my first glass flower in 2003: it was a pansy. Right from the start I realised that through my flowers I could express human feelings and emotions. I choose the flower depending on the mood I want to express.
Everything starts with emotions. Then of course I also turn to the works by Rudolph and Leopold Blaschka, who in 1890 created 4,400 plant models in glass for Harvard University. It’s an impressive work, impossible to match for the perfection of every detail.
The tears I have cried throughout these years, trying to come to terms with a material that seems so hard to work with. The master glassmakers in Murano were right to warn me, but they were wrong in thinking that I would never succeed!
I don’t think so, because through flowers I can express my feelings. I try not to repeat myself, and to keep pushing myself one step further technically, for example by creating oversized flowers.
