As of: February 15, 2024, 2:57 p.m
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Award-winning journeyman's piece: Chiara Heinrich caused a stir with her wolf face.
The animal's snout is even three-dimensional.
© Andrea Jaksch
Chiara Heinrich has great talent for glass as a material: The 20-year-old trainee at the Zehntbauer company recently caused a sensation with her journeyman's piece and became the Bavarian Chamber Winner.
She took second place nationally.
Gauting – 15 days turned into two years: That’s what happened to Chiara Heinrich.
She came to the Gautinger Glaserei Zehntbauer for a three-week internship and then continued her apprenticeship straight away.
Last July she completed her journeyman's examination and is now the second best glazier in Germany.
And all because of an allergy.
After Chiara Heinrich attended elementary school in her hometown of Wielenbach, she graduated from the Tutzinger secondary school in 2018.
It was clear to her early on that she wanted to do something crafty, preferably building instruments.
But first she decided on her basic profession: carpenter.
Immediately after graduating from secondary school, she began her apprenticeship at the Schütz carpentry shop in Weilheim.
But when she worked at the company, she often had to struggle with shortness of breath or a rash.
“After a year and a half of teaching, I realized that I had a wood dust allergy,” says the 20-year-old, who had to break off her apprenticeship.
But when one door closes, a new one opens.
“I was looking for an opportunity where I had to work with wood as little as possible,” which is how she finally became aware of the glazing industry.
At the end of August she began an internship at the Zehntbauer company in Gauting, where she now lives.
“I just wanted to see if it was good for me.
At the end I thought to myself: This is so cool.
“I’ll continue to do that,” says Heinrich.
So she started her apprenticeship, which she was able to shorten to two years.
When she wasn't doing practical work in Gauting, she learned theory at the state vocational school center in Vilshofen - as the only girl in her class.
Journeyman piece with an abstract wolf face
The journeyman's exam was due in July 2023: an eight-hour work test that is divided into grinding and gluing work, lead glazing and a drilling and cutting exercise.
There is also a written part with subject-related questions and questions about style and image studies.
The journeyman's piece, which is followed by a 20-minute technical discussion, is decisive for the overall evaluation.
The trainees had the choice between leaded glazing and a piece of furniture.
Chiara Heinrich chose the former.
She made leaded glazing measuring 80 by 80 centimeters in a wooden frame.
In the center you can see an abstract wolf face, which on the right half consists of many blue glass surfaces that are connected to each other by leaded glazing.
The left half of the face consists of a glass surface.
Heinrich “painted the back” and sandblasted them to imitate the “lead rods”.
The trainee has positioned four abstract planets in the four corners, which she associates with the four elements.
It took Heinrich between 70 and 80 hours to do this.
The three-dimensional wolf snout was particularly time-consuming.
Efforts that pay off in the end.
Chiara Heinrich became the guild winner in Munich-Upper Bavaria.
“I did very well,” she says happily and explains: “I was the best at my school in Vilshofen, so I was automatically the Bavarian chamber winner.” The vocational school in Vilshofen is the only glazier school in Bavaria.
The federal decision followed in November, in which the glazier came second.
Often underestimated as a woman in the trades
The fact that we usually talk about the “craftsman” and not the “craftswoman” is because the proportion of men in the craft industry is significantly higher.
Chiara Heinrich feels this, especially when she comes to assembly alone: “I get asked every now and then: Is anyone else coming?
Are you doing an internship?” Heinrich speaks of a basic skepticism that is particularly present among male customers.
However, she can usually resolve these quickly thanks to her professional expertise.
Older women, on the other hand, are always thrilled to see a woman in the trade.
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It shouldn't just be a journeyman title: "In one, two, three years I want to get my master's degree." Before that, the 20-year-old would like to gain experience.
“For now, I’m happy to be a journeyman and have fun at work,” says Heinrich.
She particularly likes the fact that she can see exactly what she has accomplished at the end of the day.
“I haven’t found anything yet that I don’t want to do.”
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