Inspired Pursuits

By Rinky Kumar

Published: Volume 15, Issue 7, July, 2007

Humdrum nine-to-five jobs are no longer the norm. Instead, women are increasingly opting for exciting alternative professions that enable them to optimise their creativity, explore new horizons and in the process, often break traditional male bastions. Verve profiles three feisty spirits who have dared to follow their passions and carved a niche for themselves in unusual pursuits that are so much more than livelihoods

MOLTEN EXPRESSIONS

[Reshmi Dey, Glassblower]

Eight years ago it was love at first sight for Reshmi Dey when she set her eyes on some exquisite glassware. The aesthetic appeal and gruelling work involved in giving shape to these objets d’art inspired the 34-year-old to pursue this rare art full time. Today she is a professional studio glassblower who makes unique textured glassware.

It all started when Dey arrived in New Delhi from Assam to do her MBA. Despite getting admission in a premier institution, she felt a sudden urge to explore her creative side. “My friend used to buy glass tumblers and sell them in restaurants. When I saw the creations, I fell in love with the medium and wanted to explore it.”
Dey started visiting Firozabad, the glass capital of India, to observe craftsmen at work. “There were only male workers and initially glass owners were not interested. But after some convincing, I got an opportunity to work with the craftsmen in the furnace for a year and a half,” she says.

In February 2001 Czech glass master Petr Novotny came to Firozabad to train the craftsmen. Dey learnt how to play with textures and colours from him. Later she attended a two-year course at The International Glass Centre in England and spent two weeks with world famous designer Borek Sipek and master glassblowers Pino Signoretto and Dino Rosin.

Gradually, Dey began showcasing her creations at Good Earth and Next Studio and conducting charitable shows with embassies. Currently, she is working on a collection of glass and steel. She aspires to capture nature’s beauty through her creations. Her most prized possession is a shell she made by using the ancient process of lost-wax casting. Dey’s firm belief in God gives her the mental strength to stand in front of the furnace, melt glass at 1400oC, blow it and mould it to her desired design. “For me glassblowing is a passion. I love picking up glass, playing with it when it is hot and adding vibrant colours.”
The feisty artist wants to start the first of its kind glassblowing school in India and set up her own studio. “I want youngsters to take up glassblowing as a medium of creative expression.”