Today we arrived in Vrindavan, one of the oldest villages in India. The sacred town was beautiful, as was it filled with beautiful people. We were fortunate enough to arrive with enough time to go on a boat ride along the Yamuna river.
What felt like a late afternoon, we finally arrived at Ashok's studio at 9am. He inspired us with intricate pieces of thread work and beading. Each more ridiculously amazing than the next. I was able to get one design pinned and outlined as well as my fabric mounted onto the loom. The transfer of designs onto fabric is extremely time efficient and detailed. After the design is pinned onto tracing paper, it is placed onto the fabric and washed with a kerosene chalk concoction. This leaves a white outline on the fabric. Too easy.
In terms of techniques, it was a little bit frightening directing my artisan when I had only really started to think about how I wanted my sample to look. I went ahead with:
- Padded satin stitch to create a raised centre
- Simple chain stitch
- French knots
This day left me with an overwhelming amount of inspiration and an eagerness to begin creating. I took photos of all the techniques I liked and may use and revised them on return to the guest house. This has allowed me to further develop my designs and really start thinking about how I will use specific techniques to translate my design.
Ashok's Studio
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