Ted Muehling – Vase

US American designer Ted Muehling created a series of bowls, vases and candleholders whose forms appear to be taken directly from nature.

In the selection and design of his pieces, Ted Muehling is guided by his sense of humility in the face of creation and by a particular sensitivity in regard to the aesthetic quality of natural products. The spice dishes for Wiener Silber Manufactur were developed from the very attractive seed vessel of a tropical plant. The unusual organic form fits pleasantly in the palm of the hand and magically creates softly flowing light reflections on the silver and the internal gilding. The forms of his series of vases and candleholders also appear to be taken directly from nature. The “theme with variations” is provided by plants with long, soft leaves, extending downwards with the elegance of a ballerina “en pointe”. A single leaf is shaped to form a slender vessel, which serves as a vase or a candleholder. The leaves have been wrought from a single piece. The traces of the hammer blow correspond to Ted Muehling’s desire to emphasize the living, growing, unique quality of objects, which have been produced by hand. These elegantly animated, delicate objects illustrate a new facet of silversmith art.