Amal Ghosh (in blue apron) and Peter Daglish (in green apron) conduct the workshop at the Government College of Art & Craft. Picture by Bishwarup Dutta

The annexe building of the Government College of Art & Craft looks fresh with its new coat of paint. The annexe building itself was a beehive of activity recently, as a week-long workshop on enamel painting was being conducted on its first floor by veteran artists from London, Peter Daglish and Amal Ghosh, a former student of this institution and retired teacher at the Central St Martin College of Art, who had early in his career done Calcutta’s first mosaic mural in a bank building near Brabourne Road, subsequently a vitreous enamel mural for the new ITC building on Russell Street and another in Santiniketan. And last but not least, there was also Iris Ghosh Hudson, who has retired from Beckenham Art College, where she taught enamels, jewellery making and stained glass. All three have held workshops in this college from time to time since 1997.

Over 30 students took part in the workshop. They gathered around the tables and worked on their own paintings while another put the finished paintings into the kiln for firing. The students recently did a large panel for the Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International airport.

The students were quite excited, as this was a new technique for them. “It is just another way of painting. One doesn’t have to change attitude or aesthetics. As they get more experience they will be fine,” said Daglish, who retired while teaching at the Slade School and Chelsea School of Art in London.

Ghosh said enamels were ideal for India as they “last forever.” He was, however, critical of the way the students work. He agreed that they were skilled “but the problem is that skill becomes more important than concept.” The colours are very cheap and the oxide is not of a good quality, he added.