Anjali Venkat, a glass artist based in Chennai, has interspersed science and craftsmanship to create art that is intricate and quirky. Lampworking and layered fusing – traditional glass working techniques – are employed to create art. “I have been working with glass for the last 17 years. I began with lamps and I now experiment with different glass working techniques to create art,” she says.
Conflating technique, material and colour, ‘Wearable Art Glass,' her collection of jewellery, draws its inspiration from nature to create pieces that are vibrantly coloured and are an amalgamation of various materials. Birds, dragonflies and trees find themselves on large, showy neckpieces which are unconventional and pay careful attention to detail. The earrings are a tasteful contrast to the neckpieces. Small, delicate glass jhumkas are fused with glass pearls and semi-precious stones to create earrings.
“The emphasis in this collection is on the versatility of glass and colour rather than fashion trends,” she explains. She creates art that is stylish and timeless – her pieces do not necessarily adhere to current fashion trends. A frank Anjali Venkat confides, “I am not fashionable at all. My pieces are stylish, but they are not ‘hep' and have very little to do with fashion trends. My pieces look good today and will continue to do so 20 years from now.”
Nature, a collection of neckpieces and earrings, realises her quest to utilise different materials. Combining carved jade, metal, crystal and glass with lucite (a plastic that has a translucency similar to that of glass), she creates art that celebrates nature. She rubbishes stereotypical notions of fashion that dictate that not everyone can wear everything. “You can carry off anything you want, what you choose to wear is a reflection and enhancement of your personality,” she says. On asking how best to wear her pieces, she advises that earrings and neckpieces shouldn't be mixed together, as they are brightly coloured.
Anjali Venkat is a recycling and ‘up-cycling' enthusiast. Describing ‘up-cycling' as the process of ‘aestheticisation' of an object that has been recycled and thereby ascribing to it greater value, she tells us that the best way to recycle is to be sensible about usage and minimise waste. For details, call Anjali Venkat on 09840076492.
ISHA PURKAYASTHA
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