On the basis of Neman Glassworks OJSC in Berezovka, a symposium of glass masters from the Union of Belarusian Artists took place

Glass artist - a rare profession. And no matter how creative people go to it, in Belarus, these ways, as a rule, intersect in one way or another with the Neman glassworks. A recent event at this well-known enterprise in the city of Berezovka is evidence of this.

From October 21 to 25, a symposium was held at the Neman Glassworks OJSC (the last time it was held here in 2010), in which glass artists who are members of the Belarusian Union of Artists public association took part. It is interesting that although only one participant in the symposium works today directly at the glass factory, this famous enterprise also had or is directly related to the fate of the rest, says Lida Newspaper.

And she made a vase for Leonid Brezhnev ...

What have representatives of this rare profession been doing for almost a week in Berezovka? What was the purpose of the symposium? I learned about this during a recent trip to the Neman glass factory, where I met with the chairman of the decorative art section of the Belarusian Union of Artists Irina KUZNETSOVA. By the way, Irina Ivanovna is not only an artist, but also a poet, writer. She put a lot of effort into the symposium.

- Probably, it is necessary to begin with, - my interlocutor introduced to the course, - that in December there will be a congress of the Belarusian Union of Artists (BSH), and on its eve at the Palace of Arts in Minsk from November 28 to December 8 a triennial of decorative and applied art is planned. It will be exhibited including works of glass, sponsored by members of the Union of Artists.

“In order for you to imagine how unique this type of creativity is, I want to bring such a fact,” continued my interlocutor. - The Belarusian Union of Artists today has more than a thousand members. Of these, 70 people are included in the section of decorative art. And in this section, only five artists, including me, work with glass. And we are all participants in this symposium.

I asked to tell you more about the participants.

“Olga Sazykina teaches at the Department of Glass at the Belarusian State Academy of Arts,” Irina Ivanovna, the first participant, introduced. - She often happens at the Neman glass factory with her students - this is where they begin to study the technology of glass production. Just last month they came. By the way, before the academy, Olga Sazykina worked as an artist here at this enterprise. Tatyana Malysheva, who also worked as an artist at a glass factory in Berezovka for many years, increased the fame of Neman glass at many foreign exhibitions and even made a vase for Leonid Brezhnev. Now she works in the Artistic Unitary Enterprise in Minsk.

“But not only venerable artists came here,” my interlocutor continued. - We love our youth. And we take into account that they need their own way. The road on which their guiding stars will shine and hope, talent and love for their work help them to move upward ... Among those who have already achieved certain successes on this path are BSH members Zhanna Morozova and Elena Chepeleva. They also studied at the Belarusian State Academy of Arts, as students once went to a glass factory in Berezovka to practice, and now here for the first time as artists, as participants in a symposium. We also invited Galina Sidorevich, the leading artist of the Neman glassworks, to participate in the symposium. She is also a member of the Belarusian Union of Artists - its Grodno branch.

Fantasy of the artist embodied in glass

I asked: exactly what products were made by the participants of the symposium at the Neman glass factory for the triennial in Minsk?

“We represent contemporary art,” said Irina Kuznetsova. And she clarified that these are decorative glass products. Very custom products. “This is an artist’s fantasy embodied in colorless glass and thanks to this, it has become tangible - at the behest of the soul, and not on order,” explained Irina Ivanovna. - You can’t pour something into these products, put flowers or use them as souvenir products. They are not for a wide range of buyers and in most cases remain the property of the authors or donated to museums after exhibitions ”. My interlocutor also added that the exhibition is dedicated to the Year of the Small Motherland, and the artists in their work started from this topic.

Then I found out what is unique about the process of creating works of art from glass. The peculiarity is that the artist can create it, as a rule, working together with experienced craftsmen - blowers and separators of blow products. Of course, theoretically, an artist can master the profession of, for example, a blower and achieve heights in this. But the fact is that a professional blower must not have

only artistic taste, a sense of molten glass, but also physical endurance. In general, this is a different profession, and its owner has other requirements.

Further, Irina Kuznetsova devotes me to the essence of cooperation between the artist and the master working directly with hot glass: “The artist makes a sketch on paper and explains to the master, taking into account all the nuances, what he wants to get as a result. In this case, the artist must explain this very competently. That is, he is obliged to know the technology of glass production, the technology of blowing products from it, decoration - without this, there will be nothing: neither a stained glass window, nor a chandelier, nor a decorative product ... Knowledge of technology is another feature of the glass artist’s profession. And so, you can think of anything you want, but it is important that the artist has a clear idea of how this can be realized technologically. ”

Magical hands of the master: everything can, everything ... remember

It is also important that an experienced craftsman working at the stove understand the artist perfectly. And finally, to have a platform on which everything can be implemented. “That's why we are here. And we are grateful to the management of the Neman glass factory for this. Including for the fact that for five days we were given the opportunity to work together with an experimental-art team, headed by Valery Baginsky, separator of blown products of the 8th category. This master has enormous experience, containing dozens of years of work with molten glass. Having got acquainted with the sketch, he immediately sees how to realize this: which tube to blow, which mass to take. After many years, he remembers the style and creative style of the artists with whom he had to work, how the products were created together. And if the artist wants to repeat something over the years, there is no problem - the eyes and hands of Valery Romualdovich remember everything. In general, this is a wonderful master, and wonderful, very experienced professionals work with his team, with whom it was easy for us to understand each other, ”said Irina Ivanovna.

Five days passed quickly and were very eventful: thanks to the good organization of the symposium, the ideas, ideas, and sketches that the members of the Union of Artists brought to the glassworks were successfully translated into reality - works of art that will be exhibited at the exhibition’s triennial in the capital's Palace of Arts in late November. Irina Kuznetsova did not reveal all the secrets, but assured that the participants in the symposium made every effort to intrigue the visitor and raise the culture to a new level.

Reporting: https://newgrodno.by

Members of the Union of Artists Olga Sazykina (left) and Tatyana Malysheva began their career at the Neman Glassworks.

Chair of the decorative art section of the Belarusian Union of Artists Irina Kuznetsova (organizer of the symposium).

The team leader of the experimental and art brigade of the Neman glass factory, the separator of blowing products of the 8th category Valery Baginsky.