Etai Rahmil Art and Pure Over

Edition Four Feature
We Interview: Etai Rahmil 
Location: Portland, Oregon, USA 
Photo Credit: ©Forest Gallien @forestoutside / ©Viet Mac @viet mac 

What is it that you do and how do you do it? 

My name is Etai Rahmil and I am a glass flameworking artist. I work with borosilicate glass to create replications of instruments, antiques and other fun objects that you see in the world. About 95% of the pieces that you see on my website are actually also functional pipes. I love making sculpture too, but turning an artwork into a functional object brings another level of complexity to a piece. 

Most of the functionality of the pieces is hidden, as I like the overwhelming initial reaction to be about the form. It’s always a really fun surprise to then tell people that this sculpture is also a pipe. I love that little extra that I can give someone. 

How did you get into glass in the first place? 

I left high school and started going to the University of Oregon, though I really didn’t have any direction. I was just following the path that I think most people feel they need to follow, but I could soon tell that college wasn’t for me. I got a job at a local pipe shop and started to meet glass artists who were in town. Eugene happens to be the glass-blowing Mecca of the United States, with about 4,000 glass-blowers in this small town. 

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