The display

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By LOkesh Ghai
Excerpts from what the students learnt and extracted from the course.

Sulagna Biswas

"I felt ‘JOY’ while making the quilt."

Farhan Ibnee Abid

"I enjoyed being spontaneous. I learnt taking risks. I experienced how by taking risks one can do something completely new! There was some ‘Indian- ness’ about the course. I felt I connected to my own culture in a contemporary way!"

Meenal Nagrale

"I learnt how to abstract a theme and not just literally translate.

While sourcing, I learnt how we can work in a small budget and how to negotiate prices."

Smriti Bharti

"We as ‘designers’ have many constraints in our mind, which the artisans don’t have. They make what makes them happy. During the session, I learnt how to work on a simple idea, while maintaining its basic essence to create a new design.

I learnt to appreciate basic elements of our life, how one can celebrate while ‘making’. I enjoyed the course the idea- about drawing with fabric."

Rahul Dattatray Kumbhar

"I experienced that working with hands has emotions (I made a completely handmade quilt). There are no emotions working with a machine as the machine follows an algorithm. The hand changes this.

Working with artisans we learnt the skills and a philosophy. I learnt how contrast in colours could be used to an advantage.

I can now apply soft materials in automobile, the idea of personalised: handmade for luxury cars."

Megha Joshi

"I learnt to be patient. While working I developed a good understanding of teamwork. I learnt through the experience of the artisan.

The course was ‘my-type’, as I love colours. I have learnt how to apply colours in different ways.We as ‘designers’ think in a very linear way, where as the artisan think in a different way where they manage working with even little recourse, I have maintained the same spirit in my work!"

Madhumitha Chandrasekharan

"I learnt about co-working, patience, valuing artisans and their knowledge. I learnt how sustainably can be a concept to make valuable designs."

Ashish Kumar

"It is a challenge to work in constraints, working with blocks gave me a different perspective to think."

Arya Prabhakaran

"I am happy to have achieved movement with applications of colours.

It could have been more constructive if we had one to one partnership with the artisan! While ‘making’ with the artisans I gained a fresh perspective about finding a practical solution to a problem (design/technique)."

Manupriya Singh

"I thought it will be very difficult to communicate with the artisan, but surprisingly they were in sync with what I was thinking!! Communication was not a problem. I leant how to work in a team."

Kavya D

"I enjoyed using new materials. I have never co-designing before; this helped me break my shell. The process of teaching was really good. Sourcing materials was a new experience.

I learnt how to sit in one place and work. I learnt patience!"

Parag Ajit Chitale

"I learnt time management and planning the work and following it vigorously."

Amrasha Bafna

"I learnt about colour and composition. I learnt how to not waste and how to utilise things to the fullest. As a textile student now I would not throw things anymore.

I have to go for my craft documentation, this course was a good preparation as I leant how the artisans think, their skill level, and I also learnt abstraction. I was struck by the fact that how the artisans make happiness with little things in their life."

Surbhi Sanjay Jalan:

"I have never visited an artisan's house before; it was good to see how their houses were clean and their families were so very lively."

Day 6 : Sourcing Fabric from Sunday Market

By Megha Joshi (NID, Paldi)

As by now we were clear about the idea for the composition and theme for the quilt, we had another day for sourcing the remaining material. On Sunday regular markets are closed so we had only one option left, which was Sunday market on the riverfront at the old city end of Ellis Bridge which is known for cheap and a large variety of old and new products used on a day to day basis like: Furniture, Utensils, Antique items, Clothes etc. This market is not just for buying and selling things but is also a great place for photography,  sketching, observing people and great compositions. The way these vendors display their stalls was also very interesting.

As we had to maintain a budget and sustainability so this place was appropriate for our needs. For Layering the quilts we got saris at a very cheap price and we were not the only ones searching for fabric there were other local women who were also looking for worn out saris for making 'GODRI'(Patchwork Quilt). These saris cost between Rs. 30 to Rs. 100.

After sourcing all the material we came back and started working with the patches.

                                                                                                            

Day 3: Exploring fabric

By Farhan Ibn Abid & Ashish Kumar (NID, Bengaluru)

Taking inspiration from yesterday’s work, the team Star, Peacock, Aeroplanes & Kites headed for a day, a new journey for exploring things with more of colours, texture and obviously more on clothes. The clothes collected and gathered and were understood thoroughly. Under the guidance of Lokesh Ghai and the fellow volunteers. We learned about clothes and that cotton happens to be the best of their choice and perhaps the best to work. They displayed their works, the Rallis, the beautiful work and the happiness of being the proud owner of their creation. Here again the stories of cotton mills, their journey from Pakistan to India during the time of separation reminded me of their attachments and the gall thoughts of their leaving and accepting that the faces of some shall not be seen again, it was hard and melancholic. Yet the joy of colours, the celebration of playing with those did not fail for an instance. What we had in front of us was scissors, needle, heap of small cloth pieces and the eye to match the colour and texture with one another.

The play and inspiration of the second day squares 1” by 1” 

Works done by the participants (above); work display by the volunteers and understanding (below)

So, the ingredients starts to take a new turn, some new flavours and the obvious taste of Ralli. In the broad daylight the studio suddenly turned into a busy bee centre where the mother bees were busy teaching how to tear, cut, square it, precision, thread and needle relation, the straight stitch, line, flow, speed, pressure, picking up small pieces to build up to a new one. Picking up each colour, joy, surprise, and smiles to create a bigger ocean. 

For most of us as a participant it was our very first time so to do mistake was very much Understanding the overlap and also how it’s going to react on a later phase when folded back, let not the stitch be seen, the depth at which the stitch is taken so that in later phase it does not weave out. Folding the pieces onto triangle and unfolding it to become a perfect square. And so shall goes the stories of needle and threads and motifs.

The most astonishing and exciting part was to see our mother bees sewing and chatting and in couple of minutes the piece of the extraordinaire is done. Whereas we (not all) still figuring out which piece to come first and which one to be stitched later. Spontaneity, calm, simple and smart it was, what they were creating. For us may be because of the education design was too symmetric, too edgy, fear of doing mistake and lack of risk factor. Whereas it was very relaxing. Till date what was done, was just too much of gaining brownie points.

Discussion over the lunch with Lokesh, about what we want to do and carry forward the work. Challenge part 2 was choose your theme. In which many wanted something wearable. But as per suggested and due to time constrain it was fixed to a quilt. Once again the hearts fully charged with we started dreaming more and more on quilts, the theme and colours. But first back to the work zone. (ICIC, NID Paldi).

It was very obvious for the volunteers that it has been their forte, their mark and their genre of expertise, but many of our fellow friends for their first time came out with beautiful patterns and celebration of colours, foreground, background, contrast and yes a new contemporary format of what we might call as designs, where again design happens spontaneously, happily, colours, festive, drama and life. The bees were busy, busy with their stories, busy with their threads. The birds started to sonnet and alarmed the end of the day. So shall the bees, rest for the next day.