"qualia-glassworks" is located in a quiet corner of a residential area near our gallery in Minokamo City, Gifu Prefecture. The workshop and residence with an industrial impression is a two-story building, and the first floor facing the garden is a studio. The workshop is lined with self-made tools and workbenches, with iron tools of various shapes, orange cords crawling on the floor, commercial fans, etc., all of which are neat and rustic. The American-made melting furnace, which melts glass all year round, is large and can produce a large amount.
Glass melted in a high-temperature furnace is wrapped around a rod and blown into shape. I never get tired of watching the process of making soft materials that change shape in an instant, using the whole body in a rhythmic way. All of her creations are simple and unadorned, but require uncompromising skill and precision.
The lineup of works has not changed much since the beginning of independence. When I asked him about it, he said that rather than trying to make a lot of different types, he says that once he finds something that he thinks is good, he makes it over and over again. While repeating the same work, I think that it is more important to repeat such things as making it a little thinner, wider, or sharper to make it better, rather than increasing the variety. When I heard that, I realized that this very sober attitude of manufacturing is the core of "qualia" that dwells in the work. Rather than drastically changing the colors and shapes, the overlapping of subtle changes that are added during daily production lead to a clear difference in the final impression.
At first glance, it has the uniformity of a product, but at the same time, it is a work that attracts the soft texture unique to hand-blown glass, the fluctuation of light, and the uneven beauty. When you wake up in the morning and drink a glass of water, it adds a little beauty to that moment. I never say it out loud, but if you use it, you will understand that it will become a staple in your life. That is the qualia that Akiko Hayashi aims for, "just the right feeling".
