The room is abuzz with people
discussing the magic of “art on glass” , staring with wonder at the infinite
possibilities , the sheer magic that can be created on Glass. This is Day 1 of
Banna’s Glass painting (art on glass ) workshop conducted by the artist Prathap
Ruthnaswamy.
For most people, glass painting
of Art on glass is synonymous with traditional stained glass work which
involves intricate work with pieces of coloured glass cut symmetrically, foiled
and soldered. This art form has an over
1000 year old history and has been traditionally used for large window
panels. While Prathap also works on
traditional stained glass techniques and makes paintings, he also takes orders
for stained glass work. In addition to
this, another unique feature of Prathap’s work is his glass painting work and
products he has developed using the same.
Coming back to the workshop, our
plan was to introduce and teach participants the fine art of Glass painting,
etching and several product applications using the same.
Day 1 started with a
demonstration of glass cutting and etching on glass. Again, there are several
etching techniques but the one demonstrated by Prathap was both interesting and
innovative. Something completely developed by him- All done using Fevicol. Once
the Glass is cut to any shape and size, fevicol is used to draw out desired
patterns and shapes on the glass. The completed piece is then left to dry. Once
completely dry , in order to get the desired etched effect the piece is sand
blasted. Portions covered by the Fevicol
work remain covered the way they are and the rest of the glass shows the sand
blasted effect. While this may not be a traditional etching technique, its
simple and easily done. Another unique aspect of Prathap’s work is that almost
everything is done directly by hand. Be it glass cutting or even etching. The Glass
cutting technique demonstrated too was simple using kerosene and a hardware
glass cutter.
The workshop also covered the use
of acrylic film on glass and mirrors. This is another technique where in shapes
and patterns can be copied onto a mirror surface or glass stuck with film.
Portions that need to be sandblasted are left open and the rest continue to be
covered with film. Upon sand blasting again exposed surfaces get textured while
the covered portions remain mirrored and free. This can also be painted on the
reverse side to create an interesting mix of reflecting surfaces, colour and
texture – Creating magic on glass !
Leading and painting was finally
on the agenda for days 3 and 4 of the workshop.
Understanting the nuances of actually painting on glass, the pre- work
that involves cleaning of glass and outline and leading of the painting and finally
the painting itself formed a large part of the agenda. Each participant got to make a hand painted
lamp in glass thereby making their choice of colours to paint on glass
important as well. Shades show in a
particular way on paper and then on glass and further more on glass with light.
Prathap also demonstrated the
fine art of stained glass work covering cutting symmetrical pieces of glass in
to different shapes, Copper foiling and finally soldering.
As an artist dedicated to glass
painting and art on glass, Prathap Ruthnaswamy works out of his Studio “
Bottletree” in Bangalore. He has 20 years of experience in the field who
creates makes paintings, products like lamps, trays, home decor, lights etc
using different glass painting techniques
This artist uses all these glass
painting techniques and applies them to create everyday products with a
difference !!
