Hell yeah. Let’s talk about lamps today! I found some pictures online of these awesome gourd lamps by artist Calabarte and had to know more about them. I sent an email pestering him for more information and he agreed to answer my questions. It turned out that he was a really interesting guy.
Calabarte studied building engineering at a technical university and worked for over three years in an architectural studio. In 2010, after seven years of study, he decided that making lamps was more his passion and quit his studies and his job. He went to Senegal for a month, bringing back some of the African gourds with which he makes his beautiful lamps.
I don’t suppose there’s room in the Fluff budget for buying me one of these, is there?
Whereas I find it hard committing to what I’m having for dinner, Calabarte has a drive and perseverance that could rival any artist out there. To give up years of hard work in one field and switch direction so suddenly and still make it worthwhile, it’s amazing.
Now crafting these decorative lamps is his full-time job. When I asked him how he made them, he informed me that the process involves first cleaning out the gourd, then he projects on his design and charts the pattern onto the vegetable. Next, he carves, perforates and paints it, and much like that dry-wall I once tried to put up, the light shines through the skin of the gourd, creating beautiful patterns.
He makes it sound so easy. Then again, so did that DIY book.
Before I realised what they were made of, his pieces struck me as delectably organic. I later knew this was because the basis of his works were organic, and yet while his finished lamps are as far from a vegetable as it is possible to get, that rich natural feeling is still somehow evident.
But these are much more than just lamps. They are unique in the way that the design does not simply end with a pretty physical object. The lighting itself that emanates from them is art in its own right, creating fantastic patterns.
“In each interior they create a unique atmosphere, which makes it possible to enjoy light in more than just pragmatic terms.”
When I asked him where the inspiration to create the lamps came from, where it all began, he replied that most of the crafts he had seen were oriental styled hanging lamps, and that it was his wish to create something in his own original, more modern style. His pieces come in a variety of standing or bracketed pieces which are much more versatile. I assumed it was unlikely that he would set out to make a lamp that would create such incredible patterns, he surprised me again:
“My biggest inspiration is fractal art. For me it’s an ocean of new ideas. I’m searching fractals systematically and looking for new concepts.
But they are mostly just stimulation for my mind because usually it is evolving during the process of projecting patterns. To be honest most of the time the final result is much different than I was planning on the beginning. But I like this unpredictability.”
Maths! It’ll get you every time.
Crafting with gourds isn’t a new thing. Cultures have been using the vegetable as a natural resource to make items from for centuries, with instruments, utensils and containers being just a few of its many popular uses. There are a few sources from which to get hold of gourd lamps out there as well, but none of them have the craftsmanship and style that Calabarte’s does. Where traditional pieces are quaintly down-to-earth, Calabarte’s work is luxurious and decadent.
Calabarte’s lamps are a brand all of their own. They are stunning works of fine art that would not be out of place in even the swankiest of high-end pads and I will kick myself if I don’t get hold of one now before this artisan inevitably floats up out of our reach and takes his fabulous crafts with him.
But hey, when that happens at least I’ll be able to say, “I told you so.”
Calabarte is a magical 27 year-old freelance artisan from Łódź, Poland.
You can find more of him here:
Website: [Link]
Facebook: [Link]
Flickr: [Link]
deviantART: [Link]
