Iita Villiina Jaakonaho Finnish, b. 1996
Larvjäver, Grön Jävel / Green Devil, 2024
Blown and sculpted glass
30 x 15 cm
LARVJÄVEL Hot sculpted glass Larvjävlarna are unique individuals. Each one of them has their own personality. A story. I started making them in 2022 while I first learned how to...
LARVJÄVEL
Hot sculpted glass
Larvjävlarna are unique individuals. Each one of them has their own personality. A story. I started making them in 2022 while I first learned how to sculpt. I have always found something likeable in things that are a bit odd and I wanted to create a creature that was cute but also a bit creepy. Questioning how you should feel in front of it.
The name comes from Swedish frustration if I could say so. So many times I have heard people playfully curse the objects around them when something is not working as they want. ”Dörrjävel”, ”skojävel”. Even I myself am sometimes doing it blowing glass and surely did when making the first wormie ever. ”Larvjävel” -I said trying to sculpt the right structure to the body. It ended up fine, but I liked the name, it fit well with the appearance of the sculpture.
The head comes first. Getting the right facial impression to a worm is the most important part. Sculpting the glass is so different from glassblowing in many ways. In blowing you want everything to happen fast, unlike in sculpting, when you need to allow yourself to take the time you need to finish the piece. This might be the biggest challenge for myself when making these. To jump out of the box filled of rules and just do it. Challenges are yet one of the most fun parts of making these sculptures and surely the most teaching part as well. After finishing the head, the body will be made. That will also take some time and patience but once it’s ready we get back to the fast tempo of glassblowing and finish the piece. It all happens while the wormie is attached to the punty-iron with only a small button of glass around 1cm wide. The head will be attached to the body, the details like horns and feet are added and the temperature is made even all raound and then it goes to the annealer overnight. Each Larvjävel is carefully designed before the making process starts. I love how easy it is to play with colors, patterns and different expressions with the wormies. They remind me of the playfullness we all had when we were younger, and hopefully we still have but mostly they remind me that everything is not always as it seems. The scariest, oddest things can end up being very kind and warm under the surface.
Hot sculpted glass
Larvjävlarna are unique individuals. Each one of them has their own personality. A story. I started making them in 2022 while I first learned how to sculpt. I have always found something likeable in things that are a bit odd and I wanted to create a creature that was cute but also a bit creepy. Questioning how you should feel in front of it.
The name comes from Swedish frustration if I could say so. So many times I have heard people playfully curse the objects around them when something is not working as they want. ”Dörrjävel”, ”skojävel”. Even I myself am sometimes doing it blowing glass and surely did when making the first wormie ever. ”Larvjävel” -I said trying to sculpt the right structure to the body. It ended up fine, but I liked the name, it fit well with the appearance of the sculpture.
The head comes first. Getting the right facial impression to a worm is the most important part. Sculpting the glass is so different from glassblowing in many ways. In blowing you want everything to happen fast, unlike in sculpting, when you need to allow yourself to take the time you need to finish the piece. This might be the biggest challenge for myself when making these. To jump out of the box filled of rules and just do it. Challenges are yet one of the most fun parts of making these sculptures and surely the most teaching part as well. After finishing the head, the body will be made. That will also take some time and patience but once it’s ready we get back to the fast tempo of glassblowing and finish the piece. It all happens while the wormie is attached to the punty-iron with only a small button of glass around 1cm wide. The head will be attached to the body, the details like horns and feet are added and the temperature is made even all raound and then it goes to the annealer overnight. Each Larvjävel is carefully designed before the making process starts. I love how easy it is to play with colors, patterns and different expressions with the wormies. They remind me of the playfullness we all had when we were younger, and hopefully we still have but mostly they remind me that everything is not always as it seems. The scariest, oddest things can end up being very kind and warm under the surface.