The magician and her glass act

Glass artist Lalana Lall is exhibiting her collection of bowls, cheese trays, masks, mirrors, tabletops, lights, wall hangings, murals and screens crafted from slumped and fused glass

Glass artist Lalana Lall is exhibiting her collection of bowls, cheese trays, masks, mirrors, tabletops, lights, wall hangings, murals and screens crafted from slumped and fused glass

Around 25 years ago, the glass bug first bit artist Lalana Lall. She was gifted a book on stained glass art. Soon, she fell in love with this elegant and timeless art.


Stained glass artworks created by artist Lalana Lall

It inspired her to shift her focus from textile design weaving to the nuances of glass and she even went on to train in the art of glass designing from Pilchuck Glass School in Seattle, USA.

Over a span of two decades, she has made a niche for herself by crafting unique home d ufffdcor items from glass and selling them on a commission basis. This week, she is throwing open her creative cupboard and exhibiting her collection of artefacts at Artisans in Kala Ghoda.

Titled Art Glass, the exhibition will include objects ranging from cheese plates to wall murals, lighting, screens, mirrors, tabletops and stained glass art. Lall primarily works with slumped and fused glass.
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While slumped glass involves a process of forming glass by applying heat so that glass softens, fused glass is all about heat-processing different points on the glass to give it a distinct shape.

A wall mural,u00a0An artwork that is part of the Ganesha series

"The collection includes the entire gamut of products that I learned to make over the years. Back then; there weren't too many avenues to learn the craft exceptu00a0 trial and error.
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These items reflect the two-decade long journey that went into mastering the craft and the frequent heartbreak along the way," said Lall, alluding to the easily breakable nature of glass.

Her fascination for glass, Lall admits, surfaces from watching the play of colours, light and shadow on glass. "I draw inspiration from nature, colours, light and happy thoughts which are expressed through my creations."

She admits that the challenges in this form of art are aplenty. "Stained glass often has to be imported from abroad as we require it in a certain size and dimension that is not found in India," she explains.

Till January 21, 11 am to 7 pm
At Artisans', Dr VB Gandhi Marg, Kala Ghoda.
Call 22673040 cost Rs 5,000 onwards