Glass House

On a sunny day last week, I boarded the high speed ferry from Uskudar to the Golden Horn, the largest inlet off the Bosphorus.  The man in blue on this boat did not realize he would be soaked by the spray from our ferry in about 5 seconds.  And did he jump!

After passing under the second bridge over the Golden Horn, we arrived at the Fener ferry landing.

In the Ottoman period, the Golden Horn was lined on either side with boats and warehouses.  A few of what I believe are the old warehouses are still standing and are now being used for alternate purposes.  The Women's Library is housed in one quaint building, with a charter to collect works by women and about women.  The library is open to the public for research.

Camhane or "Glass House" occupies the adjacent building and it houses the studio of Istanbul glass artist Yasemin Aslan Bakiri.  Yasemin's studio is on the ground floor and the upper floors and the courtyard are used for exhibit space.

Currently, an exhibit titled "Transparency" is on display.  Yasemin's work is displayed, as well as Greek Cypriot glass artist Yorgos Papadopoulos.

Yasemin had a few life size kaftans displayed, made of cast glass pieces sewn onto a hand knitted wire mesh base.  Very striking!

My favorites were the shields Yasemin had made in the Pate de Verre technique.

These pictures are pictures of the brochure, so not as clear and exceptional as the original work.  The exhibit runs until July 31, 2011.  To see more of Yasemin's work, check out her website located at www.camhane.com

Camhane is a great re-purposed use of an historic building.