In a light-filled studio in the heart of the Müllerthal, Pascale Seil blows glass. She is the only person in Luxembourg to practice this technique, which she discovered by chance during her studies at the École des Arts Décoratifs in Strasbourg. Fascinated by glasswork, the young woman wanted to perfect her apprenticeship in Italy, “the country of glassblowing par excellence”. But her ambitions were curtailed: the training was reserved for men. It was finally with Scott Slagermann, an American glassblower, that the student perfected her skills before obtaining her diploma at the Centre Européen de Recherches et de Formation aux Arts Verriers in Vannes le Châtel. Since then, Pascale Seil has been handling this material with dexterity and delicacy, which, once out of the kiln, can take the form of various decorative or exhibition objects, including the Péckvillercher, the artist’s favourite creations.

A typical product of Luxembourg, which has become a collector’s item, the Péckvillchen is basically a small clay whistle in the shape of a bird whose origins date back to the 14th century. On Easter Monday, bird-whistles are the main attraction of the Eemaischen, a festival organised in the old town of Luxembourg and the village of Nospelt. There are many small handmade birds in all shapes and colours, sometimes even made of glass… This is the case with Pascale Seil’s Péckvillercher. Previously drawn on paper, her creations originate in the 1300°C kiln. Once out of the kiln, the glass looks like incandescent honey. It swells, folds and twists until it takes the desired shape of Péckvillchen. A fine and elegant reinterpretation of a historical symbol of the country.