About Devitrification

One day, the glass I took out from the kiln was clouded white.

What should have been transparent was not. At first, it was a failure. Instead of light passing straight through, it slowly scattered inside. There was a quiet depth, as if milky white fog was floating within.

Rather than a flaw, it was a moment when glass showed us another form. We were drawn to this texture we had never seen before. Moving away from the idea that glass should be transparent was a very important event.

Devitrification—a phenomenon where glass develops crystals during heating and cooling processes, losing its transparency. In the glass industry, it has long been considered a "defect" to be avoided. For Gleichenia, encountering this characteristic became the starting point for creating the INWATER collection.

What was transparent becomes white. What was clear becomes clouded. At first, this simple phenomenon troubled me endlessly. The kiln temperature, the amount of glass, the length of time. Days of repeatedly changing conditions by just a few millimeters, a few seconds. Through trial and error, to establish it as our own unique technique. No matter how much we adjust the conditions, nothing turns out exactly the same. You never know until you open it.

The photographs show the test pieces from that time. Some completely clouded white. Some retaining slight transparency. Some with a mixture of transparent and opaque contrasts. The uncontrollable aspects are very unique, and we are fascinated by this material that surprises and offers discoveries with different expressions each time we open the kiln door.

Immersing the large mass after firing in water, searching for the parts that appeal to us, and cutting the intended forms from there. Because even the slightest difference creates completely different expressions, we take our time to select carefully.

Some have faint mesh-like crystal patterns running through them, while others have fine bubbles that overlap delicately like bubble texture rippling on a water surface. Each different expression is the very fluctuation created by heat and time.

The gentle light blue gradation born from the overlapping contrast of transparent and opaque. When held up to light or placed on skin, the skin color faintly shows through the glass. Fluctuations like being in water, or light rippling on a water surface. Tranquility dwells within the clean silhouette.

We named this texture, which is like being in water, INWATER.