Bolle Vase by Tapio Wirkkala for Venini 1966

Meat Bolle 2005

Meat Bolle (After Wirkkala) 2005

10” x 7” x 6”

Approximating the Bolle Vase designed by Tapio Wirkkala for Venini utilizing an Itialian meatball

A frozen Italian meatball was encased in molten glass. The ensuing pressure of the combusting meatball inflated the main body of the vessel, controlled by my thumb blocking the end of the blowpipe (Thumb on - full pressure. Thumb off - pressure released).

As an American glass-maker of mixed European descent, I was always intrigued by the Bolle Vase, designed by a Finnish designer, for an Italian Factory steeped in National pride. Was it Italian? Was it Finnish? Who am I?

*Note: I tried using Swedish Meatballs and Norwegian Meatballs based on my ancestry but the results were unacceptable