For his graduation work he made a series of “light catchers”. The works are made in casted and slumped pieces in white glass with different surfaces and openings, which break and reflect the light differently. The upper parts are more transparent enabling the light to pass through more easily, while the base is more solid holding the light captured. This effect is increased by different patinas.
In the next years he want to explore the technicalities of the material to master it better.
 
The graduates find that the training in the Glass department give attention to a wide range of techniques such as sandblasting, etching, painting, glass in lead, slumping, fusing, form melting, glass blowing and casting. The teachers Christine Vanoppen and Luc de Bruyne are complementary in relation to the technical aspects of the training.
The infrastructure was recently changed, which brought some problems but in the end, the students were able to try out all these techniques. However, technique is not an aim on itself but a means to express their artistic feelings, which also constitutes an important part of the training. 

Bie Vander Veken
Bie Vander Veken (°1963) works in the financial department of a governmental institution and started her training at the Glass department because of her interest in the different aspects of the material. From her childhood on, she was interested in the interaction of light with glass in glass windows.
For her graduation, she made 3 works inspired by nature and especially the underwater world with the movement of fish, coral and the different colors of underwater life. She works with glass beats which she blows at a lamp and combines them into a frame to create a 3-dimensional object.
“My passion is to work with glass; it constitutes an important part of my life. My works is about color, brilliance, light, round forms, movement, elegance, structure, repeat and unity. I like lampworking because it is a form of mediation for me; only the flame and the glass that I form and nothing else…”
The work “Kosmos” reflects the content and the movement of space as captured by man and exists of 1500 glass beats in 9 different tones of green, kept together by a rope. “Medusa” wants give an image of coral with its 1200 blue and purple colored beats in different formats; and “Energia” in red beats is a translation of energy.
In the next years, she want to specialize in the use of boric glass and of graphics on glass. 

Leen de Bruyne
Leen de Bruyne (° 1955) has her own pharmacy but wanted to extend her life with an artistic input. By the work of her brother, Luc de Bruyne, she came into contact with glass and she became fond of the material.
After 4 years of training, she graduates with “Shadows”, a series of form- casted glass installations.
“I try to visualize my emotions in relation to interpersonal relationships. The interactions between verbal or non-verbal communication among people is the theme of my work. These different forms of communication have a profound influence on the individual, that can be positive or negative. These different feelings, I translate in duo-forms and shadow images. Round edges express the feeling of comfort and safety, sharp edges are a sign of suppression, aggression and destruction. In some of the works, positive feelings are expressed, sometime there is a combination of them, while other are mainly expressions of negative feelings. The combination of 2 glass pieces with different kinds of surfaces results in a strong 3-dimensional image.”
In the next 2 years she hopes to explore further the possibilities of casting and pate-de-verre techniques and to bring more color into her work.

Bea Crevecoeur
Bea Crevecoeur (°1956) worked in different disciplines such as education and went through different artistic trainings including applied art, ceramics and glass.
For the graduation of her specialization years, she presents the work “ and the wind whispers” , based on Islamic designs. During her travels in the Islamic world, she became intrigued by the geometric designs which are present allover Islamic buildings such as mosques and palaces but also in daily used objects. She deconstructed these patterns to their basic form and the hexagonal figure became the inspiration for her graduation work.
“When I am in an Islamic building with its mosaics and structured screens, it brings me internal rest and makes that I better can internalize my surroundings. I try to catch the play of the wind and the shadows in relation to the light in my works. I translate the effect of the interaction of light and shadow, but also structure in textiles and glass. The textiles are folded by an origami technique and by lighting and reflecting its structure against glass with different textures and surfaces, I intensify the play of shadow and light with the materials. The different glass surfaces have an influence on the shadows and with these characteristics I construct a 3-dimensional installation“
She wants to explore further the possibilities of different materials to express her thoughts. She also hopes that her installations can be integrated in architectural environments.

“ I had a lot of problems to create these pieces. There were problems with the production process and the material did not came out of the kiln the way I meant it. Instead of perfect pieces they were imperfect which reflect the title of the series. Although I strive for perfection, the characteristics of the pate-de-verre make the creation of a perfect work almost impossible. Noting is perfect but I try to master the material from the micro to the macro level. All elements are of importance and if one is not perfectly integrated, it has an impact on the whole. However, at a certain time point, one has to finish, but I only do this if my questions have been fully answered.”
She will continue the study of the material glass but also other materials, not only for her professional interests as a restorer, but to express her artistic feelings.

Smidts Kristina
Smidts Kristina (°1959) works as a social assistant and before starting at the Glass Department, she was trained in Fashion and Sculpture.
After finishing her higher grade at the Academy (Fjoezzz 2011-3), an important change has occurred in her work. In the past, she worked mainly figurative. Currently, her work is becoming more abstract while her sources of inspiration are still very recognizable.
Her graduation work is entitled “World Wide Living”. During her travels throughout different continents, she became intrigued by the variety of building styles and the use of specific forms and materials by endogenous tribes to construct housing.
In each continent, different materials such as hides, wood, metal plates, straw or reed, mud or clay, or bricks are used as construction materials. These traditional materials, impregnable by light and without windows make these houses dark. She wanted to bring light into the living spaces by the use of glass, but not in the form of a window.
She uses the structure of the materials as inspiration to make templates for her cast glass panels, that are put in a metal construction. These constructions also reflect her own living conditions because actually she is living in an ongoing building project, which influenced the choice of the metal frames.
She has an own studio and hopes to increase her knowledge and skills of glass casting and glass lamp working, and to study ways to express herself more in a non-figurative way.

The graduation show runs from 13/6/2014 until 26/6/2014 in
SD Worx
Centrum KMO
Brouwersvliet 2
B-2000 Antwerp
+32 (0)78-159024
opleidingen@sdworx.com
http://www.sdworx.be
 
Information
Academie Berchem, glass department
Frans Van Hombeeckplein 29
B-2600 Berchem
+32 (0)3-2926300
info.beeld@academieberchem.be
http://www.stedelijkonderwijs.be
http://www.stedelijkonderwijs.be/academie-berchem-bk/glaskunst-0