Born in Flames: Andi Kovel of Esque Studio
It’s not every day that you find a beautifully made glass object that makes you laugh out loud with delight, and then still want to have that item in your home to use — often. But Esque Studio is less slapstick and more exceptional glassmaking with a touch of mischief, resulting from the combined skill and artistry of Andi Kovel and Justin Parker. And they are more than hands-on owners: the duo, who have worked together for two decades, essentially make every product that heads out the door of their Portland, OR-based studio.Â
We’ve admired their clever, elegant glassware for years, from their gravity-defying Water Drop Jugs to playfully crumpled vases. They’ve also produced custom colorways for pitchers matching our most recent seasonal collections, featuring rich colors you can’t find just anywhere (see more here). We reached out to Andi Kovel to find out more about working with glass, the pair’s creative processes, and what keeps them excited to come back into the studio day after day.Â
You’ve described your studio’s name, “Esque,” as an intentional acknowledgement to outside influences (the suffix itself meaning “in the manner of”). What are some of your external sources for inspiration?
We don’t spend much time looking at other glass artists’ work, preferring to work in a bit of a vacuum with little influence within our art form. Inspiration for me comes from everyday objects, nature, memory, and aesthetic and functional design needs.
Justin and I both work from different inspirations at the start of each piece. I always start from a sketch. I have countless notebooks filled with completed ideas and future works. I think that in creating working drawings, I’m able to free my work from the confines prescribed by the material. I’m able to create new and inspired forms in glass this way, and can find a connection to my fine art and paintings. Â
Justin creates from the material itself. He designs with the glass in hand, and in this way is able to stretch the forms by playing off of the physical attributes of glass. Justin loves to play with optical qualities and distortions. I love to impose sculptural forms and conceptual meaning into my pieces. As glass artists, we are influenced by our learnings and technical knowledge. Our focus and interest is in the material itself — its behaviors and attributes comes directly from that familiarity. Â
How do the materials and processes of working with glass effect what you make?
I was drawn to glass making immediately, as it’s such a physical art. I come from an athletic background, and loved the idea of using my entire body to create artwork. Another appeal for me was the aspect of teamwork. As a painter and sculptor, countless hours are spent alone in the studio. The move to glass was at first an obstacle, as there is always someone watching you, but it became a really meaningful part of the process. Â
Then you have glass as a material. When hot, the consistency is like honey. It glows and drips and moves in this slow graceful manner. It is unlike any other material in its beauty. It is truly mesmerizing. Then it cools, and is rigid and cold and fragile. It has amazing contrast in its hot and cold states. We try to capture this materiality in our products.
How does the collaborative nature of glasswork factor into your work?
Justin and I have been working together for the past 20 years. We work everyday. Usually it is just the two of us producing all of our pieces. We are so accustomed with each other’s movements and techniques that, usually, we have no need for verbal communication. We both know our part of the dance to the point of pure instinct. The process is very involved, as it takes a physicality, intellectualism, and teamwork. I’m always a few steps ahead, mentally, from what my body is doing.
I’ve often heard our movements together described as a kind of ballet. It can be very graceful and smooth. It can also be a lot of pure determination and brute strength. This is the balance that is so alluring. I’ve been told that when I’m working, there is peacefulness to my expression. I believe that this comes from absolute concentration.
I design and blow my ideas, and Justin designs and blows his. We often come up with ideas together, where we both push the other’s original concept into something more. I also design pieces that Justin makes, and vice versa. We just try to keep the job even and fair, and we accentuate each of our strong points, while trying to keep the job fun and spirited.
What’s your favorite part of the process?
My favorite part of the job is designing and prototyping. I can draw a form on the floor in chalk one day, and be holding it in my hand the next. There’s no other material that’s so immediate. I do also enjoy making and working with molds. The glass wants to be a round smooth bubble, but molds give us the freedom to create sculptural and angled forms that defy the material’s wishes.
Finally, one aspect of Esque we absolutely love is its playfulness (such as vases shaped like honey bears, above). How do you make room for irreverence into your creative practice?
We have a bit of New York punk built into our personal attitudes towards life, and it shows up in our work. Our process is so playful and experimental in itself. So many glass designers take it so seriously. We want our designs to have a spark of that joy, as well as a questioning of conformity, rules, and what we don’t question as being the norm. I love awkwardness, the misfit — personified glass, when it makes you want to take it home and take care of it.
Photos: Boone Speed Photography.
