“ Whenever I introduce myself to anyone as a glass artist, the question I’m asked is whether I do glass painting,” laughs Reshmi Dey, a glass artist based in Delhi. Dey had just finished her work, taking a break to sip a glass of water in her studio, Glass Sutra, located in Chattarpur. She had just designed a large glass vessel. To make it, she had to go through a lot of hard work, including standing in front of hot furnace and using her hands to give shape to the molten glass.

“In India very few people know about this form of art. Glass art doesn’t mean only colouring on glass but much more. It comprises glass-blowing, flame-working, kiln-fusing and slumping, coldworking and much more,” informed Reshmi, who is an expert in hot glass-blowing.

The colourful glass or different shaped glass figures are not as easy to make as they look at first sight. The glass has to go through different processes. Take the example of hand-blown glass, which is blown by mouth and fashioned entirely by hand. For the hand-pressed glass, liquid glass is pressed into a mould with a manual plunger. Similarly, in flamework method, different pieces of glass are burnt and molten in flame.

Reshmi, an MBA graduate, never thought of becoming a glass artist or taking it up it as a career ~ it was mere chance. She had come across some beautiful well-decorated glass. Its texture and design attracted her. This is when she wanted to know all about this art. “Those two beautiful glass (pieces) intrigued me to know more about glass. Then I decided to take up glass art as a hobby as well as career,” she informed. She came to know that career-wise there was not much opportunity in India. Therefore, she had to go to a foreign university to learn about it.

“To learn about this form of art, I first visited Ferozabad, a hub of glass art in India. I started visiting all the factories, most of them allowed me to go inside,” she recalled. Two-and-half- years of rigorous study and work in different countries later, Dey came back to India in 2004.. Since then she never looked back. Now she owns her studio, where she holds workshops, from basic to intensive glass work. In her 5,000 sq.ft studio she teaches students about different techniques ~ flame working, glass blowing and cold working. Among her clients, she now has Le Meridien, Radisson, Taj Vivanta and several villas.

In her studio, there is one furnace in one corner along with many blowpipes to shape molten glass. At the other end is equipment for cold-working (used to shape and polish glass) and a section for a flame-work, where a lamp is used to melt the glass. Here Dey prepares tableware, lamps, vases, decanters, jewellery, and other art pieces. “Each creation is time-consuming. Different items required different timing,” explained Dey.

Speaking about her art, the artist informed that her forte is hot glass blowing, which is tough and challenging. In this form one has to stand a long time in front of the furnace, shape the molten glass with the help of tools and newspaper bundle until it solidifies. Decorative products like table ware and candlestands are some of the outcomes. Another major work is flame work, in which pieces of glass are melted with a flame and are given shape. Small decorative items and jewellery are made using this form. “If you apply heat to glass, it will soften, if you continue to apply heat, the glass will become more fluid and flow together and two of more pieces of glass will stick to each other or can be given any bend or shape,” she informed.

Most of the items in Dey’s studio are imported from the US or Italy. At times she also has to import raw material as it is unavailable in India.