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Dr Alka Raghuvanshi is an art writer, curator and artist and can be contacted on cap embroidery machines Factory.The economic situation of the world is directly related to the health of the art across the world. Two of my sculptor friends have had indefinite postponements of their works. Just when things start to look up in winter for them in the festival season, wedding season, they have been pushed into such a corner that post demonetisation that many have gone back to villages — although I wonder what they will do there.Besides it needs deep pockets to be able to sustain their work and career over a period of time and hence continue to be ruled by the galleries.Around myself, I see that my weaver from Chanderi is unable to sell his wares, my block printer has had to downsize to only his retired father and brother working as opposed to five other workers who worked regularly in his home karkhana.

 Imagine trying to put together a show sans hope for any sale. Most individual artists are unable to do this at the national level, let alone handle international positioning. My Mamu – maternal uncle, trained at being a glass blower way back in the 1960s in Germany and The Netherlands and family lore made it even more exciting and small pieces that he had created are treasured heirlooms.com. Second was Kapadvanch in Gujarat, which was a centre of essentially glass mirror production from the Mughal period until recent times.With all these glass tales tucked away in the crannies of my heart I went to see Parsing – The Mind’s Eye, an exhibition by Vijay Kowshik, the senior-most glass sculptor of the country who is able to work in different type of techniques like blown glass, fused glass, slumped glass, moulded glass, casting glass, flame worked glass and stained glass to create some incredible pieces.

 His glass works have also imbibed techniques like kiln and sand casting too. The place was famous for its vibrantly hued glass beads. While the poor embedded the attractive coloured mirrors into their wall paintings, used them as part of embroidery on cloth as embellishing the "decorative" element, the rich used it in small pieces to create geometric patterns in coloured mirrors in their havelis. I have sat in dingy, whirring workshops of Firozabad getting glass cut to my specifications and designs on several occasions. Kapadvanch also functioned a crafts centre and produced glass bottomed hookahs, chandeliers and small time glass fixtures. A whole section of masks that we all wear at various points are his latest works and too find place in the show.