Vessel with Circulating Pattern

Vessel with Circulating Pattern was produced using free-blowing, a process that involves gathering molten glass on the end of a steel blowpipe, inflating it by blowing air into the pipe while rotating it, and then shaping it with tools such as tweezers and spatulas. Once the vessel is formed, thick layers of molten glass in multiple colors are applied around it, smoothed out in different directions, and reheated. This creates patterns reminiscent of ink marbling due to the varying expansion rates of the colors. The motifs evoke imagery such as remembered landscapes in the distant past, atolls in the ocean, and the shadows of swaying plants. Around the vessel’s rim, colored glass is twisted into spirals and its flow modified with key-shaped tools, generating a marbled pattern. Ishii Koji explored a range of expressions in other works such as Vessel with Twisting Striped Pattern, Vessel with Spot and Striped Pattern Near Mouth, and Vessel with Floral Pattern. (A.J.)