Indian Textile Tour

It took me 8 years to get there but what an adventure. Ten days of bright impressions, textile adventures and photographic opportunities. I had intended to go on a similar tour with Colouricious in 2019 but by the February I could see that Covid was becoming a problem. Just as well I cancelled out or I would not have got back into New Zealand when Jacinda closed the border. Having saved for four years to go, it was a blow and then we had 3 years of lock downs due to the pandemic. My husband was diagnosed with lung cancer from asbestosis and had to have the top third of his right lung removed so another year fled by.

I had followed Pan Holland’s website for many years and when she announced her inaugural tour of Rajastan in March this year, I decided it was now or never. And it was an amazing immersion into culture, history, design and textiles. I feel so fortunate to have been part of this.

I had been collecting printing blocks for some time but seeing the number and complexity of the blocks available was something else. In the photo above you can see a multi layer block being stamped. This entails the alignment of the base print with subsequent blocks that can be printed in different colours. I think there were three colours in this imprint. Of course the ability to add stitch or other substrates is always in the back of my mind.

The layers in the ink tray were of significant interest. There was a layer of mesh, then a layer of burlap then a layer of cheesecloth then a layer of organza - each layer being finer than the previous one to ensure the ink was taken up on the block evenly and without any globules. Often in western use we use a sponge to dab on the print block or a one layer sponge/felt pad. It will be interesting to experiment to see if the prints I make are more precise.

I wasn’t quick enough to get to try the multi layer one except for the elephant and then I printed the solid shape first so it was difficult to align the outline around the solid shape. Lots of fun!!!