Jochen Holz
Glassblower
The shelf at the back of Jochen Holz’s Stratford studio reveals a seemingly random but beautiful assemblage of his work. It consists of functional pieces like drinking glasses, jugs and bottles and individual sculptural objects. All the glassworks are very delicate in colour and shape and have a distinctive organic form.
The process of creating a piece of glasswork starts with a glass tube. Jochen holds both ends of the tube and heats the middle part over an open fame until it reaches a glowing and moldable state. He then starts giving the glass its rough form by either tearing the tube apart and enlarging one end of the tube with a tool or by blowing into one end of the tube to give the glass a balloon-like form. The glass is only moldable for a very short time and then it needs to be heated up again for Jochen to continue shaping it to the desired form. To give his glass a surface structure he imprints it on wood, fabric, cheese graters and other interesting textures.
This is a form of glass blowing that is rarely seen in Britain. It’s based on scientifc lampworking – a technique Jochen studied for three years in Germany before moving to Britain to study at The Royal College of Art.
Jochen has gained an exceptional reputation for his craft. Besides commissioned work and collaborations with designers and artists he increasingly creates his own designs. His unique, hand blown glassware is available at Momosan Shop, and The New Craftsmen. Find more information here: Jochen Holz
This article appeared in the November 2015 issue of LoveEast Magazine