“Come as early as you can. We will start the kilns at 7:00” said Bibi. Tuesday saw extraordinary temperatures of 39* but Bibi and her assistant worked all that morning. We agreed that I should aim to get to Bibi’s workshop as early as possible on the Wednesday to try and capture the early morning light in hopefully, less extreme temperatures.
As I walked towards the open door, framed by hollyhocks and early morning light, I could hear the roar of the kilns and the hiss of heat. Looking round the door, there were Bibi and her assistant Elisa, hard at work. I dropped my bag, set my phone to camera mode and started filming. It was absolutely magical! Bibi and Elisa work together with a complete intuitive understanding of what the other needs. The resulting petal and leaf forms, forged in the red hot heat of the furnace, are absolutely exquisite… rippling light playing off the delicate yet intense colours so deftly handled by Bibi who makes the whole process seem deceptively easy and extraordinarily graceful. I was mesmerised.
The resulting flower forms that Bibi creates with blown glass are breathtaking. Each one takes at least 20 minutes of concentrated craftsmanship to create and then 24 hours to carefully cool before they are ready to handle. Bibi’s design currently allows for 400.
After more than two hours, I left Bibi and Elisa still hard at work, the sunlight glinting off the coloured glass as it was spun, blown and moulded into delicate flower forms that capture every passing sunbeam. Truly wow!!
Carolyn Wiersum
Organising Committee Friends Gift 200 Years
Donations can be made via account number NL63 ABNA 0519 6660 62 in the name of the Friends of the Mauritshuis Foundation, please mention 'Gift 200 years'.
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