Javiera Yañez Correas was honored with the Atelierul Award – The Iconic Ones by Mihaela Ion at the „The Transparent Breath” event in Venice, celebrating her exceptional influence and achievements in her craft. Javiera, a Hot Glass Artist, specializes in crafting peculiar and innovative glass jewelry pieces that showcase her skill and creative vision in working with molten glass.

1. Can you tell me a couple of words about yourself? How was it to grow up in a family of artists? From your point of view was it the best thing for your future glass design business?

I was born into a family of artists, and I tried to run away from that destiny for a long time, until I couldn’t escape it anymore, and here I am. Growing up in a world of artists gave me the possibility of thinking about life in a creative way, in every aspect of my life. For me, creativeness is not a synonym of peace and harmony, it’s being able to find a strong meaning in chaos. Then, glass found me, by chance, and I started to venture into this wonderful technique of Hot Glass. It’s already been 18 years since.

2. Can you tell me more about the creative work of a Hot Glass Artist? How did you start your creative business?

I started making glass beads for 8 years and completely self-taught, in Buenos Aires there weren’t glassmaker master’s back then. Then, I met Ferran Collado, a Catalan glassmaker master, and with him I also met borosilicate glass, which brought me new ways and possibilities. Also, a few years ago, another colleague and I opened our own furnace, where we make some larger glass pieces and, with some of them, I create giant hanging glass flowers.

3. What are the values of your creations? What was the moment that defined your style?

Maybe what I can bring to the world of glass expression is trying to break the idea of what is known. I like to live with the piece, without being afraid that it will break. I create them with this idea. Also, the way I use colors. I feel they represent me better when I use them in a disruptive way. When the eye has to leave its comfort zone.

4. Congratulations on winning our prize, I love your creations. Could you please tell me what inspires you in the process of creating your products? Why did you choose glass?

I feel really honored to receive this award! Thank you so much Atelierul magazine!

I think that my encounter with glass was fortunate. It wasn’t a choice but a fascination that brought me, first, to make earrings with antique glass pieces, until one day a person appeared that was teaching a one-day course, and I learned I could do them myself. With this minimal information I built my first little space with a torch in my living room, and I started to grow in this technique.

My creative process is chaotic, uncertain and challenging. I never know exactly what I’ll make, and for months, or even years, I can be processing ideas in a profound way, until one day, like a whirlwind, they come out with strength and life of their own. They force me to capture them when they’re ready! I’m inspired by movement. I like when my pieces have the possibility to move or to look like they’re moving, by playing with light, refractions and reflections.

5. Can you tell me a little bit about your creative process? Where do you take your inspiration from, and how is a piece created?

My creative process, in a messy way, is based on a lot of observation. I observe everything, how things are built, how colors, textures and transparencies are arranged. I love flowers, insects, the pulsing nature. Everything has its own expression. What remains to me from this observation is what I try to catch. Not the shape but the sensation. And as the phrase goes, “may inspiration find you while working”. When I work on my larger works, it’s always a playful process that is built when I have all the pieces. It’s useless to project something when I don’t have the pieces previously made. And for my smaller works and jewelry, I usually start and then go with the flow. Sometimes more amusing ideas come in the process, and even in errors.

6. How do you see glass art and jewelry in an increasingly digitized society?

For me, glass is completely futuristic. It acts as a bridge between past, present and future. It really captures my attention how children understand it, enjoy it and comment wonderful things about it, they perceive the light and its luminous path. I think it’s our duty (and we’re achieving it) to give it more expressive alternatives. The possibilities are infinite!

7. Which do you like better, online or offline sales of your products?

Without a doubt it’s beautiful when someone trusts what they see in a screen enough to make an online purchase, but to see in front of my own eyes how the person chooses the piece, plays with it and makes it their own is priceless.

8. What is the most important lesson you learned in your creative career? What was the best advice you received from somebody?

One of the many lessons that I’ve learned on my journey with glass is that it takes one step at a time. It’s useless to accelerate the timings that are born from other processes and ways. I’ve learned to enjoy the mystery of not knowing where you’re going but knowing that you’ll eventually reach your destination. The best advice I’ve received was given to me by a ceramist, Graciela Olio, who, when I pitied myself for being self-taught and for not having any glassmaker masters who could teach me, pointed that, on the contrary, having the freedom to try everything, without someone pointing out what’s allowed and what’s not, is a path way more enriching, although slower. And I’ve found she was completely right!

9. Do you have special designers that you follow or admire?

I like many designers of all kinds of artistic expressions! Michi Suzuki, Olga Alianova, Cecilia Lopez Bravo, Simone Crestani, Alessandro Boscolo, Ferran Collado, Hitoshi Kuriyama, Kit Paulson, Kayo Yokoyama, Caterina Zucchi, Kobuki, Marina and Susamma Sent, in torch, and in furnace, mostly the Italians: Lino Tagliapietra, Barovier Toso, among many others.

10. How do you deal with plagiarism? Did this happen to you?

It happens a lot! But I believe that you have to keep going. There’s no use in sticking to the belief that certain ideas only occur to you, sometimes it is surprising how similar ideas can appear in different places at the same time. I think you have to trust in your own creativity and move forward with it. It’s possible that someone can copy one thing, but many, it is more difficult (although it can happen too).

11. What do you think is the greatest challenge for a jewelry designer in 2025?

Patience. Nowadays with social media everything looks more “express”, but the essence, the deep imprint is achieved by incessant work, endless experimentation and no fear of error, what’s good and lasting takes time. Being patient with the time that something needs to come out to light.

12. How do you see the European design expression of glass compared to the Argentinian one?

Here in Argentina, we’re at the starting point of knowledge and of a glassmaker community. There are not many places to learn, almost none. So, for the little there is, I see a lot of expressive force, we’re very eager to get into the material. We’re a very potent seed, in my opinion. And we’re constantly expanding and growing.

13. What advice can you give to a glass designer that is starting creative business?

My advice would be not to rush in selling if you’re not ready yet. It’s better to take the time that glass requires so that the work is impeccable in terms of quality. Being such a fragile material, it is our duty to make a stable and solid piece.

Working with glass can be slow, but it is necessary.

All the images are sent by  Javiera Yañez Correas from her personal archieve.

Thanks to Eleonora Varotto and Arte Design Venezia for a great collaboration.