Showing posts tagged Kutch
Judy Frater, artisan advocate and rockstar
Last February, I had the great privilege of spending a couple weeks with the pioneering craft advocate and co-founder of Kala Raksha, Judy Frater. Judy is a rare find of a person in the world. She not only thinks with her brilliant mind, but her huge heart, and is more open about those things she thinks about than anyone I know. She’s lived in Kutch for more than 20 years working with traditional embroiderists and other artisans in the area. And I’d even argue that she’s been a huge force behind establishing the region as a destination for textile enthusiasts from around the world, all of whom want to schedule some time to meet with the famous Judy Frater. Between helping artisans fill out complicated visa applications to make it to Santa Fe’s International Folk Art Market in the summer, she also made time to meet Australian scholars working on books, volunteers, craft tour groups, and then of course me, who was looking to be mentored and observe different models of working with craftspeople. Judy’s a rockstar. And she deserves a big statue or plaque or benefit or something monumental and long-lasting to honor not only her work in Kutch, but her character.
This article briefly touches on her impact among artisans in India.
(via Ishan Khosla)
Photo essay: Traditional Craft and Artisans of Kutch, India
A Photo Essay by Photographer, Shaina Shealy
EMBROIDERY
BANDHANI
WEAVING
COPPER BELLS
See other work by Shaina here.
India Roundup 1: Pictures of Kutch
Today’s India post is a small collection of photos we took of some artisans and their work on our Facebook page.
“India is the cradle of the human race, the birthplace of human speech, the mother of history, the grandmother of legend and the great grand mother of tradition.”
- Mark Twain
As some of you know, I returned to NYC from a 3-week trip to India. The purpose of the trip was to see what’s happening in the Indian artisan craft and design scene, to build relationships, to start designing Rubina products made by Indian artisans, and to kick off a project we are working on with Kala Raksha, a nonprofit that has been working with textile artisans in the Kutch area of Gujarat.
In our short existence as a design company, we’ve worked only with paper, so this was a new experience for us as much of the craft coming out of India is textile-based. There are so many types of textile works coming out of Kutch, which is based on centuries of tradition passed on from one generation to the next.
Some of these include:
Embroidery
Weaving
Block printing
Bandhani (aka tie-dye)
Batik
In the next few days, I’ll be posting some photos, illustrations, thoughts, summaries, and observations from my trip. Hope you enjoy!
