By Arjun Rathe
One of the best aspects of combining art glass with lighting is that you can get an array of colours, shadows, tell stories and create specific ambiences and moods just by the use of colour, light and shadow. Art glass generally mixes different colours of glass and patterns, textures, to create a fitting or a fixture. So, you have a lot of options in ceiling reflections, floor reflections, which can create a very interesting experience. We had recently, a few years ago, done an installation at the Lodi Hotel, which was an art glass installation where all the glass was imported out of Italy.
And it had a very sort of a Chihuli esque style of floral colours being used to create a new Italian restaurant for the Losi Hotel at that point. So that gave a great example, through shadows how the single chandler of art glass became the focal point due to its vibrancy and the ambience of colours that it created below for the tables. It was a great example of how we used art glass in that project.
One of the key aspects of glass as a material is that it really magnifies the colour and the optics of the material just sort of really amplify the vibrancy of how a colour is shown in glass. And that's something which is very exciting as a culture which has so much of colour vibrancy similar to our festivals, in our clothes, in Indian culture.
In construction as well, architects not only use large glazed areas for their energy-saving properties but also because they provide natural light into buildings which enhance living and working conditions of occupants. Studies show that glass in buildings, through all these benefits, contribute to people’s well-being and improved health conditions.
The sugar collection that we launched last year was our first product collection that experimented with the use of art glass, where we took inspiration from Indian desserts like the motichour, the chocolates, the sugar candies, the orange candy, the bullseye candy, which became the signature of the collection.
The pan, where we had experimented with blown glass combined with leather to sort of create shapes was one of our first collections which explored art glass combined with refined fabrication processes and frames to sort of create a very modern lighting collection that could be flexible in different formats of living.
And that is sort of one strong aspect that the studio is looking forward to using art glass in lighting by creating modern lighting fixtures or fixtures which follow the Indian style of living. Also, important to note that when you are working with apartments versus when you're working with larger spaces like Bangladesh, the formats of living in terms of seating, terms how we live, and the formats of the bedrooms roughly remain the same.
The only thing changes are the scale and the size of the rooms. And the area of the living room or the area of bedroom is what is constantly changing. So, creating universal languages in metal frames becomes one very important aspect the studio focuses on and then accentuates that by creating an array of art glass objects which can be added onto the frames, and replaced onto the frames to create different languages and stories through art glass.
Also, it becomes very important to build awareness for glass as a material to be used in these various situations. And that's what we've been doing through our rural modern glass studio where we've been building strong awareness for glass, through workshops, through engaging the design community and the user community, to sort of create lighting and to create objects, to just sort of give them hang of what glass is all about so they can start designing with it.
With decorative lighting, the design community in India is in the middle of a design revolution that is unique to the country. For the last ten to 15 years, you've got a lot of designers who have been able to experiment at a pan-India and international level with various crafts and lighting concepts and make a good name and mark on the Indian industry, which was not there for a very long time.
And through this process of design experimentation, lighting has become one of the forefronts of interior design, which people tend to focus. And they feel that it adds a lot of value to the projects in terms of ambient light, mood lighting, as well as functional lighting. All of them combined go into becoming very important aspects of the project that all designers sort of strive to get right.
Art Glass, it's a very new material that has been introduced in the design industry in India. At least, glass was not very indigenously, manufactured and produced here. From an art standpoint, it was always mass production, which was happening here in India. So, our new glass studio, the Rural Modern Glass Studio, it's the first art glass studio here in the country that's exploring using blown glass and other glass mediums to create glass. Art glass lighting has a very sort of like, giving access to blown glass to the design community. So, collaborations are possible. And it's exciting to see what art glass is going to sort of create a new design language for the generations to come here in India.
Glass is among the preferred materials not only for its aesthetics but also for its own characteristics. Glass preserves taste and vitamins. As an inert material, it guarantees that food and beverages placed in glass containers are not stained by the packaging. It is also commonly used in the pharmaceutical industry to preserve the properties of medicines.
Art glass and blown glass objects and lighting can have a significant impact on interior design in several ways:
Focal Point: Art glass and blown glass objects can serve as a focal point in a room, drawing attention to a specific area or feature. They can create a sense of visual interest and add texture and colour to a space.
Lighting: Glass lighting fixtures can add a unique and stylish element to a room, as well as provide practical lighting solutions. Blown glass pendant lights, for example, can be used to highlight specific areas or create a soft, ambient glow.
Customization: Art glass and blown glass objects can be customized to fit specific design needs. Glassblowers can work with designers to create pieces that complement the overall aesthetic of a space, including size, shape, and colour.
Reflection: Glass objects can reflect light, creating a sense of depth and spaciousness in a room. This effect can be particularly useful in smaller spaces, where the use of mirrors and other reflective surfaces can help to create the illusion of more space.
Artistic Expression: Glass art can be used to express artistic vision and personality in a space. It can add a unique touch to a room and showcase the creativity of the designer or artist.
Overall, art glass and blown glass objects and lighting can add a unique and stylish element to interior design, providing practical solutions and artistic expression. Their versatility and customization options make them an ideal choice for a range of interior design styles and applications.
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