In this post we feature two of the artisans from the Aranya Natural Dye Unit. The Maiwa team touched down in Munnar (in state of Kerala located in the southern tip of India) after our visits to artisans east of Hyderabad, we scheduled some time with Victoria Vijayakumar...

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Kalamkari - printed with natural dyes. As our car gets closer and closer to the ocean our main goal has been to connect with artisans who produce kalamkari blockprints. “Kalam” means “pen” and “kari” means “work.” – so the kalamkari is traditionally a form of decoration done with...

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Out in the street a giant brush is used to starch the warps.  The Maiwa team is now in the south of India. Once we leave Hyderabad we are off the tourist routes and our pauses for chai, dosa, or coconut water create a bit of a sensation....

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Kolkatta - easy to get around and a pleasure to visit. The masterclass if over but we are going to keep giving updates on our trip; just the highlights - with a focus on textiles and dyes. ...

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February 2, Day 6 Our last full day. In the dye studio Michel is concluding with one of the most challenging colours – black. Most blacks are made with a combination of tannin and iron, but iron can eat away at the fibre and so there is a...

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A strip of printing tests. February 1, 2011 Day 5 This is the second-last day of the class. It seems that Bengali time passes much more quickly than regular time. Yesterday, in addition to the woven shibori, Michel Garcia continued to teach natural dyes. Printing tests were done...

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Catharine Ellis (far right) speaks to a group about woven shibori. January 31 Day 4 Today is a special day because today some of us go along with Catharine Ellis to see and create some woven shibori. This is a technique whereby supplemental threads are added to either...

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Rural Bengal has many charms. One of them is the loudspeaker bicycle man who passes by just before sundown. What is being broadcast over the loudspeaker? We wish we knew. January 30, 2011 Today is mordant day. For those who are new to natural dyes, know this: dyes...

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