Karen Lise Krabbe

Glass fuser

©Ole Akhøj

©Enok Holsegaard

©Jens H. Petersen

©Ole Akhøj

The gift of glass

Karen ‘3D-prints’ her works using sand-cast pâte-de-verre
Her work is characterised by intensive material research
She won first prize in the Coburg Glass Prize, Germany, in 2014

Although Karen Lise Krabbe always wanted to learn a manual craft, at university she studied drama, Danish and Spanish philosophy, and it wasn’t until her late 30s that she once again considered artisanal work. Karen Lise was initially concerned she might get bored spending hours in front of a kiln, however she immediately realised it was in fact the opposite. “It was actually the first time in my life I had nothing on my mind other than what I was doing in that particular moment,” she says. For Karen Lise, this was not only a starting point but also a point of no return.

Interview

©Ole Akhøj

©Ole Akhøj

At what point did you open your own workshop?: Towards the end of my second apprenticeship I started my own studio, although while working in those previous workshops I had had many occasions to work on my own stuff. From Monday to Friday I worked for them and on weekends I worked on my own stuff.
How did you evolve your particular way of working?: I’ve always contaminated glass with foreign matter, to challenge the material. I try to forget the physical laws in glassmaking, and then something new might appear. At some point I started to combine glass with sand, olivine, metals and pumice, which are not easily compatible, but what appeared was intriguing.
Do you remember the first object you made?: I remember the first object in blown glass that I was satisfied with. It was just a plain hemisphere with orange murrine. It was nothing special at all, and it had nothing to do with my actual work, I just wanted to achieve that particular form and it took a couple of years.
What inspires your work?: The questions I ask my materials and the answers they give, or the questions they ask me. I almost see materials as my working partner. I wake up and they are waiting for me, suggesting things, and I am responding. You must be able to see the gifts that you are given from the material.

Karen Lise Krabbe is a master artisan: she began her career in 1997 and she started teaching in 2002