Glass craft communities

India has 3 traditions of glass bangle-making: * seamless bangles, with no joints, that are spun like a donut around a conical clay mandrel, * bangles with joints that are as long spirals around metal mandrels and then cut into individual rings, * composite bangles that are flameworked into intricate patterning using broken and wasted glass bangles.

As a contemporary studio artist working conceptually with glass through the disciplines of glassblowing, casting, grinding, and self-generated experimental techniques, the gradual disappearance of India’s glass bangle-makers saddens me. In collaboration with craftsman Izhtak Ali of Purdilnagar, I attempt to connect the canon of an ancient craft with my playful experiments. While he witnesses newfound respect towards his workmanship, and gains access to alternate processes for making his work visible in the world. I develop greater sensitivity towards his rather specific creative method, and push the boundaries of what is possible in the medium. This collaboration has, therefore, also served as a thinking- making space, which is often made visible to the public during residency-cum-exhibition opportunities.