We had written about 3 wonderful designers and revivalists doing stellar work. We continue with another 3, each of whom is close to my heart and I am friends with. They work from weaves from their particular area and are dedicated. Sarees and Mekhela in natural dyes using Mulberry and Muga. Image courtesy - Naturalli Anuradha Naturally Anuradha – Anuradha Kuli – There is just one word for Anuradhas’s creation – beautiful. A weaver who worked with the Sericulture Training Institute of the Silk Board, before launching her own little brand. She effortlessly combines traditional motifs into contemporary textiles – mekhela, chadder and sarees. The colour combinations and the motifs are to die for. She has a very pretty petite lady belonging to the Miri (Mishing) Community of Assam. Two things that really strike about Anuradha’s creation is the brilliant colour combination and the choice of motifs. This together with her clever use of silk, mixing mulberry with eri, tussar and ...
I had chanced upon this cloth at a local exhibition here, they looked rustic, intricate and were being sold by artisan from Congo. They didn’t understand a word of English. Interpreters provided by the Embassy were able to tell the price of each through translation and nothing beyond. With my textile fund budget exhausted, I let go of it and providentially maybe will find another opportunity to get it. I shot several photographs and it lay on my laptop, till research revealed it was the venerable Kuba cloth. Kuba cloth is a woven tradition of the Kuba people of Democratic Republic of Congo formerly Zaire. There are over 18 ethnic groups who weave Kuba cloth. Woven out of Raffia, the fibre of the Raphia Vinifera Palm, the process is time consuming. The weaving is done by the men while the embroidery or embellishment is carried out by the women. The process involves preparing the fibre, dying it using natural colours, weaving the basic cloth, embellishing the woven cloth with embroidery, appliqué and patchwork. Basically two types of kuba fabrics exist – small embroidered squares and the larger rectangular ones. The larger ones tend to be decorated with appliqué and other techniques including cut-pile embroidery.
also found in
parts of South India. The Palm leaves are collected sorted and worked on by the
entire family. The process of
extraction, wetting of the palm leaf weaving using heddle looms is a long drawn
process. The dyeing is done using vegetable colours. There are plenty of
articles online which give a glimpse of the process. The process may seem complicated, but the
result is eye catchingly beautiful. The weaving is done by the men whilethe
embroidery or embellishment is carried out by the women.
My bad, I was not able to do much of an interview. The artisans were there to sell and asking them for information without buying anything seemed unfair. So a better day and deeper pocket may unravel the secrets.
Nearly 200 designs have been documented and there are others amongst the sub styles. It is this rich geometrical motif and design with a few colours attractively combined giving impression of animal patterns which is truly inspirational! India is endowed with a lot of palm trees, can such fabrics be woven out of palms from India, the experimentation is definitely worth a try. Or better still, can silk sarees be made drawing inspiration from the rich Kuba motifs and colour combination. That will be the day, when design truly goes global!!!
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