SIRIUS GLASSWORKS

On November 19 we visited Peter Gudrunas and his two daughters Iris and Deirdre at the Sirius Glassworks studio in Port Colborne.

Photography: Luna Khods

Styling: Cameron Lee Assisted by: Inez Genereux

Clothing: 100% SILK SHOP

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Using traditional methods first developed over 2000 years ago, Peter Gudrunas is a master glassblower working in an ancient art, forming contemporary glass that is prized for its classic beauty. At his studio near the shores of Lake Erie, Peter is one of the few people in North America to make his own colour from raw minerals, mixing a base of silica, limestone and soda ash with metallic oxides like cobalt, silver or gold that add colour in a chemical reaction with the heat. Most contemporary glassmakers buy factory made colour because Peter’s method is a somewhat dangerous endeavour as well as vulnerable to human error. The results however are worth it; an entirely unique and mind-bending array of technicolour sunset pallets that appear different under any change of light.

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Working with hand tools, the glass is shaped while molten. Peter says of his craft; “To work with glass is to work with light, both reflected and refracted. I draw inspiration from the glass itself- the material is fluid and transforms from something very responsive to something very fragile. It has its own unyielding rules- I have to stop when the piece is ‘right.’ It requires a certain kind of flexibility that can continually lead down new paths. Even an imperfection can lead to an entire new series of objects.” In our technologically sophisticated time, glass retains even more of its historic mystery- every piece is made by hand and will never be duplicated.

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Peter describes starting each piece without knowing how it will end up. "The material is fluid and transforms from something very responsive to something very fragile. It has its own unyielding rules that require a certain amount of flexibility.” Hot Glassblowing takes a certain type of hyper-alert, yet meditative and elegant pyromaniac - a quintessential description of the man himself.