Pascale Seil

Glassblower

Finding freedom in glassmaking

Pascale perfected her glassblowing skills in France
She works with techniques such as murrine filigree and overlay
She intends her objects to convey emotion

Pascale Seil initially studied ceramics in Luxembourg, before attending the University of Decorative Arts in Strasbourg, France, where she specialised in glassblowing, going on to further study at the Glass School CERFAV in Vannes le Châtel. She then opened her own glass studio in the beautiful village of Berdorf, in the heart of the Mullerthal region in Luxembourg. Today she produces small pieces of tableware and inimitable sculptures, often inspired by the nature in and around Berdorf. In collaboration with Henry Dostert, she founded the company Solstice, which specialises in unique and customised lighting.

Interview

Why is glassblowing your passion?: I like to work with glass in its hot and molten state, and then see how it transforms into something completely opposite when it’s finished. I love having the freedom to think and to make my ideas come true in a material that is as transparent as my dreams.
Where do your ideas come from?: My trompe l'oeil glass sculptures are inspired by Victor Vasarely’s works and his art of concealing a subtle truth behind another too obvious truth. It is a metaphor for life: we see two objects when in reality there is only one.
Is this the magic of glass, for you?: Yes. Only glass allows you to create this effect, since the mass is so transparent that it gives an impression of emptiness. The eye wavers between lightness and heaviness, between strength and fragility.
What memory stands out in your career to date?: In my first studio, I was so happy to start working with glass, and at the same time I felt afraid, because I was alone with a furnace burning at 1,400°C. It’s a long, hard journey to manage to manipulate something as independent-minded as glass and to survive in this job.

Pascale Seil is a master artisan: she began her career in 1987 and she started teaching in 1995