Dagmar Gerke

Glassblower

Inspired by textures and far-away lands

Dagmar is inspired by her travels and by novel materials
For some of her glassworks, she used bamboo as moulds
She was first awarded for her work while she was still studying

Dagmar Gerke has studied archeology, goldsmithing, metal design, and art and design all over Germany. Initially a jewellery designer, it was Fabio Vogel's workshop dealing with the connection between glass and metal that first introduced her to glass. For her Bachelor thesis, Dagmar designed glass vessels that served as clothing for the performance arts. As a result of this work, she was awarded a grant from the Gerhard Bürger Foundation for her project studies and her Master's thesis on Spaces of Tawain. Spaces of Taiwan is a collection that was displayed at the Hessian and Bavarian State Prize and Talent special exhibitions at the IHM in 2023.

Interview

Could you describe your work called Spaces of Taiwan?: This work consists of six sets of glass vessels of different sizes, whose colours reflect the places I visited during my stay in Taiwan in 2018. I was inspired by bamboo, which I used throughout my journey to create moulds out of Chinese reeds and bamboo stick. At the beginning, it was intended only as an experiment, but it turned out to be remarkably effective.
What is it like to work with bamboo?: My bamboo comes from a bamboo farmer here in Northern Germany. I hand sort the stalks. I use bamboo tubes of different thicknesses depending on the vessel size. I use Chinese reed, bamboo, fresh bamboo branches, and bamboo leaves. I also use a metal mould in my glassworks to hold the bamboo, which is then pressed in when the glass is blown.
How did you manage to receive awards so early on in your professional journey?: Interested parties are able to contact me because I exhibit my work and participate in tenders through active application and participation. I believe nothing comes from nothing, and after all, you can always try your luck. I also pay attention to visual presentation when I showcase my pieces.
Could you expand on this?: Promoting work effectively requires preparing visual material so that the audience is able to appraise the originals. During lockdowns when we could not go to workshops, I spent a lot of time working on photography and creative cloud programmes, which have definitely helped me market my work.

Dagmar Gerke is an expert artisan: she began her career in 2015