Ulla Forsell

Glassblower

©Mats Bäcker

A life in glassmaking

Ulla combines traditional techniques with screen-printing and mirror work
Glassmaking makes her happy and she wants that to show in her work
She is inspired by nature, flora and fauna

Born in 1944, Ulla Forsell has been creating glass since 1974, becoming one of the leading personalities in contemporary glassmaking. She is well known for her circular dishes with three-dimensional flowers, leaves and fruits. She has also been working with mirrors and the reflection of light and colour. “My work is richly decorated, bordering on Baroque. I seek to capture sensuality in glass with shimmering surfaces, though also promoting a dark and mystical aspect by using traditional silvering techniques,” she says. Ulla’s glass studio is located in central Stockholm in an early 18th century building that originally housed a brewery. Today it is the evocative home of several artist studios.

Interview

How did you learn glassmaking?: I spent five years at the State School for Art, Craft and Design (Konstfack) in Stockholm, two years at the training school for glassblowing, cutting and engraving at the Orrefors glass factory and one term at the Rietveld Academie in Amsterdam.
When did you understand that glassmaking was your calling?: During my art training, glass design was a small part of the ceramic programme and ended with one week at a glass factory, where our designs were made by the glassblowers. Standing next to these skilled craftsmen filled me with a longing I had never felt before.
How did you actually start?: At Rietveld Academie I saw a small studio glass furnace for the first time and realised that it was possible to blow glass as an independent artist outside the glass industry. Since I had to fulfil the longing I had felt observing the craftsmen, I did not think twice about having my own studio.
What aspect of your work fascinates you most?: My passion is blown glass, formed by hand into vessels or flat panels. Until quite recent times, window glass was made by blowing tall cylinders, cutting off the top and flattening the cylinder by reheating it. This is the same technique, on a smaller scale, that I use to make my panels.

Ulla Forsell is an expert artisan: she began her career in 1974