fresh
passions
The Glass
Gallery
A n a r t i s t f i n d s h e r c a llin g i n
l e f t o v e r g l a s s a n d g iv in g it a
n e w life. M e e t A n ja li V e n k a t.
BY
ANKITA A TALWAR
C
PHOTOGRAPH YUVARAJ VIVEK
PRODUCED BY
RAGINI SINGH
... jiyli
.j/f jmÈÊ
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48
BETTER HOMES AND GARDENS | DECEMBER
2011
THE DESIGNER
Anjali Venkat, a
creative person at heart, and at
work, has always been passionate
about art and craft. In 1995 she
started to dabble in stained glass
and that opened a whole new
world to her. “I am mostly a self-
taught person and don’t have any
formal education in art, but have
attended various workshops. These
workshops opened many new
avenues for me.”
GLASS-IFIED
“Though
I
initially
started work with fabric, once I got
introduced to glass, and the forms
it takes, I fell in love with it. I find
glass to be such a vibrant
medium—the more I work with it,
the more I realize how little I
know about it. Everyday is a
learning process.” Anjali works
with stained glass (in the
painstaking original way), melts,
and transforms old bottles into
decor or utilitarian items such as
lampshades, platters, candle-
holders, glass jewellery, and
decorative wall art too.
THE ROAD
A very hands-on
person, Anjali was always doing or
making something for her home or
her friends. Soon, word got around
about her talent and the popularity
egged her on to turn her hobby
into a profession. Thus was born
AnjaliDesign studio in Chennai.
“No strategic marketing
techniques here, just word of
mouth,” she clarifies.
THE JOURNEY
“The toughest part
is explaining to people why my
stained glass is such hard work
(considering there are simpler
ways too), but I love it. Every
morning it makes me happy to
know that I have something to do
that I enjoy.”
w h a t ’s UP n e x t
Anjali has
already started experimenting with
mixed media—metal scrap,
magazine waste, newspapers etc.
“But not at the cost of my first
love—glass and the gratification it
gives me.” ■
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