Maura Vianello was not a child of glass, which, in Murano, constitutes a major handicap. This island village, in the lagoon of Venice, is world renowned for its glasswork. “I was born there, I was bathed in it all my childhood, I always wanted to do that. »
Alas, his parents were in the restaurant business. “However, the middle of the glass is extremely closed. And absolutely no one wanted to help me at first. Not even to familiarize myself with the tools. »
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Dreamer’s job, damned job
He was 14 years old, fumbled a lot, got burned a lot. “Then finally, a man, only one, was kind enough to start showing me. His name is Vanni. More than a master, for me, he has become a friend. »
On the family side, the teenager could not hope for anything. His parents dreamed of him as a banker… “So I worked, worked a lot, all my life, all day, not counting the hours. That’s how we learn. »
This is how you also become one of the world’s great glass burners, whose work does not fail to attract the attention of the 40 or so exhibitors, all specialists in the genre, invited as part of Flame’ Off. The event settles for the first time in Nancy.
We knew the art of multiple glass, but we discover that the chalumist branch, on its own, makes it possible to deploy worlds. Worlds where the finest pearls are grown, all of glass (the finesse of Catherine Bailly’s creations is remarkable), where fragile butterflies by Bernadette Bihin fly, or tiny stems of flowers by Catherine Bailly are grown, in beds of moss or grass that are hard to believe are made of glass.
Utilitarian, decorative, jeweler, scientific, this glass taken from a rod put to the test of the flame creates illusions that we would gladly attribute to magic. But as Mauro Vianello reminded us, it’s a dream job as much as a damn job.
Coming with a small sample of his creations, including a representation of a snail and another of an octopus that are glaringly true, it is indeed with the shells that he sows even more trouble.
“Where did you pick them up?” he is regularly asked. “Or people are convinced that it is made of resin, ceramic, or even plastic! »
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Add a little something
Nothing of the sort. Glass, “simply”, the result of his own experiments, his secrets, and colors that he alone knows how to obtain. “The challenge, in my eyes, modestly, is to add a little something of myself to existing techniques. »
At 60, Mauro Vianello considers himself very lucky to have been able to realize his childhood dream (“even if the beginnings were more than difficult”). But he worries about the children to come.
“We know that raw materials are very expensive. And more now. On the other hand, it is difficult to sell our creations dearly. Of course, today, I can afford it. But a beginner will have much more difficulty. This is to say if it will be necessary to maintain the faith, and the flame.
Flame’Off, Alstom site (50 rue Oberlin in Nancy), Saturday July 16 (10 a.m. to 10 p.m.), Sunday 17 and Monday 18 (10 a.m. to 7 p.m.). Admission: €2.
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