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Sound Mandala

The frequency of healing… in glass.

We are captivated by summer instructor Nisha Bansil’s Glass Mandala series, undertaken during her residency at the Studio of the Corning Museum of Glass.

Nisha writes:

This project was an investigation into Cymatics. In 1880 a German scientist named Ernst Chladni discovered that when you strike the edge of a metal plate covered in sand with a violin bow predictable figures appear.

These figures are created by the pressure waves of sound vibrating the material on the plate.  I was interested in capturing the resonant patterns of the vibration of sacred instruments. Lama Tsultrim and Lama Lordo from Karme Ling monastery played traditional instruments called Gayalings into a microphone which was connected to a modified speaker.

The speaker vibrated glass frit poured on top of thin glass plates.  I made 36, 16” x 16” glass patterns from that recording. I found that the patterns lined up in visual chords and the nodes intersected in such a way that the stacked plates began to reference patterns found in sacred geometry and Muslim architecture.

You can explore the art of embedding patterns in glass castings through a variety of methods this summer with Nisha in her Penland glass workshop:

“Embedded Pattern and Thick Forms”
Nisha Bansil
June 30-July 12, 2024 (11 STUDIO DAYS)

Registration opens January 15!