Anne Petters

Glass sculptor

When life influences art

Anne considers materials to be a language
She became interested in art as a teenager
She is passionate about teaching glass skills

Raised in Dresden, then in East Germany, Anne Petters was a young girl when the Berlin Wall fell, and she recalls the sense of excitement and positivity that came with it. Yet the sudden changes that resulted from that historic event also sparked insecurity and vulnerability among East Germans, teaching the young Anne “that nothing lasts”. This influenced her outlook on life, and hence her art. She now produces sculptures in glass and other materials that express a sense of fragility and ephemerality, “a natural reflection of the way I perceive life”. Since her initial training at the glass school in Zwiesel, Germany, she has studied and worked in the US and now lives and teaches in London.

Interview

How did you come to work with glass?: As a teenager I got into glass during a skiing vacation to Zwiesel in Bavaria. It wasn’t snowing enough so we had to entertain ourselves differently. I saw an exhibition about the long glass tradition in the region. There was something magical about the material, it was like a calling.
How does glass allow you to communicate?: Glass is one of the most metaphorical materials that I know. It’s very changeable and it can have very different faces. No matter how long you work with it, it’s always a bit out of control, there are unexpected things, and for me that’s a metaphor for life.
What specific glass techniques do you use?: In the US I came across this technique of shaping glass in the kiln. It’s a sort of printing technique where I carve into a plaster mould and then these drawings are fused onto the glass. It’s a very physical and immediate way of bringing drawing into glass.
What do you love most about life as an artisan?: I think it is the amazing, inspiring friends that I made on the way. With all the travelling I do I don’t really feel connected to a place like other people do. So having this network is very important to me. It makes me feel at home on this planet.

Anne Petters is a master artisan: she began her career in 2011 and she started teaching in 2013