Designer and glassblower from Bergen, Norway
Say hi to these special pieces from Bergen: Sigrid Rostad is by no means new to her craft, but around here, the talented designer and glass artist from the southwest coast of Norway is still a recent find with her beautiful, distinctive designs. What makes them so special is that Sigrid Rostad's mouth-blown vases and other pieces seem to display the material's various states burned into their surfaces: When the glass has cooled down in its final forms, it still tells of the flowing, liquid state it once had in the hot workshop. Shapes are smooth, amorphous yet clear, while the colours are often cheerful pastels or elegantly muted. Those made of transparent glass also create magnificent, wavelike reflections.
Sigrid Rostad's work is inspired by interior design, nature, a playful use of colour, but also inspired by the material itself, the liquid glass, as she said in a recent interview: "I also get inspired by the material itself – the liquid glass. It’s such an exciting material to work with, something about the light in it and the way it behaves – it’s alive. I love to create clean lines but I also want my works to retain some of the dynamic quality of the liquid glass. The soft, liquid glass hardens but retains waves and imploded shapes that tell a story."
Sigrid Rostad came to glassmaking in 2008 through a chance encounter with a professional glassblower. She has been dedicated to glass ever since: After attending art school in Denmark, Sigrid trained as a glassblower and completed a 3-year apprenticeship. In recent years, the glassblower has worked in Denmark and Sweden before returning to Norway. In May 2020, Sigrid opened her own studio and workshop in Bergen, Norway's second largest city.
Sigrid's work focuses on designing and blowing beautiful vases, like the ones you can discover in our shop: "I really enjoy making vases because I find it fun to work with different sizes and challenging myself – larger items can be more difficult to handle when glassblowing. I really love the way these pieces can function both as traditional vases but also work independently as a sculpture. They’re beautiful in themselves and can stand alone without flowers, but also work well with flowers in them. The pieces challenge the idea that a vase must be used for the typical bouquet of roses – the person who buys my vases could add a twig or a branch, a single flower, or a full bouquet depending on their preferences. I love the idea that people can be inspired and create their own expression with my pieces."
