Ondřej Novotný

Glassblower

©Igor Zacharov

©Ben Deiman

©Simon Bruntnell

©Ben Deiman

A family legacy

Ondřej continues the family glassworks
He is very active within the international glass community
He likes to use old Venetian techniques

Ondřej Novotný became familiar with glass as a child. His father, a skilled master glassblower employed in a state enterprise, built a glass workshop at home and encouraged his two sons to learn the craft. After studying at a glass school, Ondřej improved his skills through several residences in different countries. Today he gets requests to work with glass artists all over the world. He is now a master glassmaker, or gaffer, in the family glassworks, making functional glassware through hand blowing. He also makes his own art objects, combining traditional Muranese techniques with a contemporary aesthetic.

Interview

©Dominik Sobotka

How do tradition and innovation influence your work?: I apply old Venetian techniques in combination with a simple, modern shape. I prepare the glass rods, pull the threads and create a coloured cane with a reticello or filligree pattern. These are capsuled inside the piece and reflected in clear glass.
What do you love most about glassmaking?: I enjoy every aspect of it. The physical demands of working with a material that has such movement and intensity can be as much a challenge as it is a joy. Over the years my excitement for the limitless possibilities of the material has developed into a real passion.
How is your craft linked to where you live?: North Bohemia was known for glassmaking by the Middle Ages and had the same importance as Murano does in Italy. Today there are about 70 family workshops here working within all possible fields of glassmaking.
You collaborate with glass sculptor Martin Janecký...: In 2007 I started to assist him with his own sculptures. Since then we have travelled the world, taught, demonstrated and become very close friends. He masters inside sculpting, a technique he developed. It takes several hours of intense work to create a sculpture with this technique.

Ondřej Novotný is an expert artisan: he began his career in 1999