Andreja Brulc, Co-founder of ArtKam
A visit to the art studio eN unikat, Kamnik
I am mostly self-taught, curious, and always searching for new paths and materials. The main idea is fun. I often think outside the box. This is how I achieve surprising results. My work is to create unique, decorative, and at the same time useful objects. I cut, break, grind, glue, paint, spray, burn, melt... I do all this before the product takes its final shape. Finished plates, coasters, candlesticks, and jewelry sometimes turn out exactly as I imagined, sometimes not at all, but there is always someone who takes them as their own because they see what they want in them, even though I may have overlooked the aspect that they find most enjoyable. Travel, nature, food, and music inspire my creativity.
— Nives Vidmar/eN unikat, October 2022
ArtKam visited the innovative art studio eN unikat in Kamnik, whose display window will host a sculpture of a polar bear by Belgian artist William Sweetlov until next Monday (October 10) as part of our international exhibition Expect the Unexpected (24 Sep – 2 Nov 2022), exhibited at five locations and organised in collaboration with Kspaces from Turin.
The owner of the studio and master of glass fusion (float glass), Nives Vidmar, who runs creative workshops for both children and adults, enthusiastically told us where she draws her inspiration from: mainly from her everyday urban environment and nature, as well as from her travels around Europe. All these experiences provide her with opportunities to broaden her horizons on her experimental path. She explained her demanding work process as part of her artistic practice and presented her unique products, known as images in glass. Thus, each product has its own story.
Glass fusion was love at first touch for her. She discovered this technique by chance while living with her family in Skopje, Macedonia. In the studio, she experimented with different shapes and colors, which gave her the opportunity to become more closely acquainted with the characteristics of different types of glass. After returning to Slovenia, equipped with a wealth of experience, she decided to strike out on her own and opened her own studio in Kamnik in early March 2020. Since then, her artistic journey has been full of "unexpected" experiences that further encourage her to push the boundaries of experimentation with methods and materials.
The word "fusion" comes from the English word "fusing," meaning melting, joining, or bonding.
Glass fusing is the joining of pieces of glass at high temperatures, usually in a kiln. Before this, the glass is first cut and sprinkled with glass powder or glass colors suitable for fusing. The process of "baking" glass — if we borrow the term for baking clay, which in the case of glass means melting and joining — is usually carried out at approximately 700 °C to 820 °C. At lower temperatures, melting occurs, in which separate pieces of glass stick/fuse together but still retain their individual shapes, while at higher temperatures they merge completely, flowing smoothly into each other.
As Nives says,
the fusion process takes at least 20 hours, depending on the thickness of the glass. It is particularly important that the glass cools slowly. Otherwise, it may crack. It is important to use compatible glass. The baked glass can then be shaped on molds (made of plaster, ceramic, or steel) and baked again.
If we place glass fusion in a historical context, we find that the exact origin of the glass fusing technique, which developed before glass blowing, is still unknown. However, archaeological evidence shows that the Egyptians were familiar with the technique as early as ca. 2000 BC. Although researchers generally accept this date, some historians argue that the earliest fusing techniques were first developed by the Romans, who were much more prolific glassmakers. Melting was the primary method of manufacturing small glass objects for about 2000 years, until the development of the glassblowing blowpipe. Glassblowing, invented by Syrian craftsmen from Sidon and Babylon between 27 BC and 14 AD, largely replaced melting due to its greater efficiency and versatility. While glassmaking in general experienced a revival during the Renaissance, fusing was mostly neglected during this period. Glass fusion began to regain popularity in the early part of the 20th century, and particularly in the US in the 1960s. Today, contemporary glass fusion is a very widespread hobby, but the technique is also becoming increasingly popular in the world of fine art.
