Poetry in Glass

Juliette Leperlier

Poetry exists in any medium

If design is the unrestrained union between imagination and inventiveness, then the creative process is a precise science.

Juliette Leperlier may not be a scientist but her pâte de verre designs require great scientific know-how. Elemental reactions and oxidation rates are all factors that affect the final product. Physics is needed to understand the durability of a plaster mold and whether or not it can withstand the heat of the kiln. Algebra is used to calculate weight ratios between glass and plaster. Geometry determines how the shape of the inner mold affects the flow of molten glass.

From technique to production, Leperlier draws inspiration from Bach, ballet, physics and sentiment. Her feelings are intuitive, her thoughts philosophical, her designs complex. She works with the precision of a surgeon and the spirit of a poet. Rearranging the complex to be simple, reimagining the heavy into light, she refines the message with fluency. She is an artist who has erected a shrine to contemporary glass art in the name of love.