Shading with silk thread

I designed a second embroidery piece again depicting a joyous, splash of water. Although the direction was both down and at the same time, uplifting - in worship. This was based on a stained glass collection by French artist Henri Guérin. I was inspired by the beauty of his work, and by his artist statement:

Unintentionally, this seed of a drawing has taught me to give thanks for the treasures of the world, human and object, over which their creator dispenses a profusion of light; He whom I believe to be the creator of Heaven and Earth.

Using the freedom with which He has entrusted me, I have gleaned a few trees, bushes, flowers and other derivations of His mystery, all of them fragments of His sublime creation, to show you, in my own way. If you find the silence in these images before you more eloquent than words, perhaps you will find this declaration of faith superfluous. Secretly, that is what I hope...  

One of the works from Guérin's collection of the vowels in the alphabet.

My spirits soared after reading that, sitting there surrounded by his glass creations. I aspire, as he has done, to worship the God I believe in through my art, and to inspire others to awe as well. This is a particularly difficult thing to achieve, and I am at the beginning of the journey, but it is what I would love to be able to do through fashion design.

Fortunately, after discussing with Ashok the design I had taken from one of Guérin's stained glass works, and that I wanted this piece to all be fine  thread work, he assigned my piece to a particularly talented artisan, Raju. The stitch he used is called Fasabla, which is a stitch in the middle of two others - or mixing stitches. Ashok suggested that shading be used, and to great effect. I love this piece.

Raju finishing off my thread work piece.

Road Trip

The whole of India is covered in dust,
in my nose, eyes, grit in my mouth.
A naked child in a "play pen" cage sits crying in the dirt,
inhaling a coughing highway.
People's lives are spent on the side of the road;
walking, resting, cooking, weaving trays of coconut through traffic jams of
cars, trucks, scooters jammed with people.

And the eyes;
always looking, staring at these pale faces peering back from the other side of the glass;
these women who, inches away, inhabit a far away world.

The whole of India is covered in dust,
In my nose, eyes, grit in my mouth.
There are no clean feet in India.
But the smiles of children are radiant.

Pushkar

Further impressions of Vrindavan and Pushkar:

• Driving on the wrong side of the road to get to where you want to go
• Cows roaming in the street, as well as monkeys, dogs and squirrels
• Cows eating refuse off the street
• Shantis made of sacks on the edge of town, a small, naked girl sitting in the dirt
• Shopping for exotic delights at a fraction of the price back home- brightly coloured pigments, silver and enamelled jewellery, perfume oils, coats made of recycled saris, leather bound books of recycled paper.
• Developing a taste for Indian cuisine and choosing it over Western alternatives even when its on the menu.

After a short week learning stitches and designing embroidery designs we had a weekend away in Rajistan. Arriving in Pushka at sunset, we were treated to a camel ride where we sauntered past orchards and arrived at the home of Fiona and Praveen. There we were treated to a feast and a performance by local gypsies, where tipping involved dancing with them! The next day we saw how The Stitching Project employs local women to embellish jacket components with a hand running stitch. This provides an additional income that is given directly to the women. We also tried out block printing in a local studio, used by Fiona and Praveen which was a lot of fun.

Camel ride through rural villages

Nandu Kanwar refining my "graffiti" block printed scarf 

Local gypsy dancing troupe

Fiona and Praveen are embracing the principles of fair trade, making jackets and clothing to order whilst employing local artisans and women. Fair trade, sustainable fashion is certainly the longer, harder road, with so fewer suppliers and so many more questions to ask, but it is the way I want to go. Although I am seeing first hand how complicated, arduous even, it is to achieve quality high fashion that is kind to the planet and is inhabitants. Obtaining organic cotton in small runs, sourcing second hand sari fabric in the colour ways of your choice, training makers to a standard discerning customers would expect as minimum. I have so much more respect now for the designers who are going just a little way to make their collections fairer.

Fiona & Praveen inspecting jacket pieces with hand stitched embellishment.

Studio time

My concept is a depiction of the Holy Spirit, specifically the characteristics of peace and joy. Following advice from the Fashion lecturers, I have simplified my imagery to water, using two elements of water - the splash and the ripples it forms, moving to stillness as metaphor of joy and peace respectively.

Ashok has shown as samples of his work, giving us a taste of the stitches and how beading and sequins can be used.  The studio is full of materials which Ashok has generously made available for use in our projects. Robyn also gifted me some beautiful clear crystals, which are perfect for slash droplets.

Ashok showing his "daughters" embroidery samples.

Example of water using stitch and sequins

Example of water using silk and metal thread

Artisan Chhailvihavil working on my water splash, which utilises beads, sequins, crystals and silk thread.

Sitting with my Artisan, I was able to show how I'd like the beads to be mixed, gradating from one colour to the other in a painterly way. This was the biggest challenge I found, as the artisans were so disciplined and expert at their craft that everything was neat. They were used to neat rows of colour and  lines of stitching - they must have been perplexed at mine and others' insistence on "messy, messy!"

Beauty in Ritual

On our second day in Delhi, after sourcing end of run fabrics, and dining and shopping in the local courtyard mall, we met the girls of a orphanage that our host supports. These girls were so happy and full of life. We filled the restaurant with lots of noise and laughter. (No photos of the girls posted to protect their privacy.)

After an early rise and 3 hour car journey we arrived in Vrindavin, south of Delhi, where we were welcomed by the photographer Robyn Beeche into the Ashram where she lives. We are here to learn embroidery and beading at the Ashok School of Embroidery, and to collaborate with Ashok's artisans on some contemporary designs of our own.

Being a temple town, ritual is everywhere in Vrindavin, and I love this richness, how they incorporate their Hindu religion into daily life. What touches me is the aesthetic beauty of their rituals. How Shilpi, the wife of the Ashram guru's son, blessed us before our first day at the embroidery studio, like her Mother would do for her before an exam, by placing a bindi on our forehead and giving us some sweet biscuits she had baked. 

Shilpi blessing Sarah

The chanting and use of roses and coconut water in the puja or ceremony of Ashok's brand new school. The pujari (priest assistant) in his beautifully embroidered white robes gave each of us a bindi as we held rose petals that he then sprinkled on the shrine. 

The Pujari placing thread around my wrist after giving me a bindi.

Lighting a floating candle on our morning river tour in Vrindavin.

The wearing of different colours for each day of the week: pink for Monday, orange for Tuesday, green on Wednesday, yellow on Thursday, multi colours for Friday, black or blue for Saturday and red on Sunday. 

The evocative, energising singing and music in Sri Radharaman Mandir, the ashram temple, to which one woman spontaneously got up and danced before the deity.

Dancing in the temple.

In contrast, western society could do with more ritualistic beauty. Perhaps the Enlightenment has had too much of a sanitising effect on culture. Capitalism and individualism have also left its scars. Are aesthetically beautiful rituals and ways of relating to one another  replaced with aesthetically beautiful luxury consumer goods? 

Reflecting on what I have seen in Vrindavin, as a Western Christian, at times I look for a more aesthetically enriching expression of my own faith. The use of colour, flowers, performance and gifts, perhaps.  Perhaps there will be inspiration in the traditions of  the Greek Orthodox, Egyptian Coptic or Nasrani Christians (the latter from Kerala in India's south). And the Bible itself is rich with imagery, which as a design student I can try to respond to in fresh, contemporary ways. This will be both a challenge and an enriching experience.

First Impressions

After arriving off the plane at our beautiful guesthouse in south Delhi at 6am, we were out 3 1\2 hours later for a full day of shopping. We came home laden with all kinds of ribbons, trimmings, beads, sequins, and fabrics, as well as bellies full of delicious Bihar food and eyes wide after visiting the studio of emerging designer Rajat Jain, who incorporates luscious beading in his contemporary designs.

Embellishment heaven!

Beader's delight!

Along the way, I also saw some random things that I would not have seen back home...

• The nature strip of a highway used as an exercise track
• A family of four on a scooter
• Another family in a three wheeled open taxi, laden with plaster of paris gods and shrine plaques
• Men picking wax from customers' ears outside McDonalds, with used cotton sticks.
• A girl's pleading face pressed against our car window
• Children making music and doing tricks at the traffic lights to earn money for another.
• Climbing around traffic in centimetre gaps to cross the road

There's something exhilarating, even though unsettling, about being amidst it all. And sleep will be sweet tonight...

India, here we come!

What a fabulous experience awaits ten of us who, as part of our fashion and textile design course, will be travelling to Delhi, Vrindavin and Pushka for 2 1/2 weeks. There we will source fabrics, learn traditional Indian embroidery and beading techniques, stay in an ashram and come home richer for  the experience.

Each of us will be collaborating with an artisan on contemporary embroidery designs, so it will be a real   knowledge exchange - the combination of two minds from very different worlds. I can't wait. Here is a sneak preview of my theme - can you guess what its on?

Bounty of the Beach

poem and mixed media collage of shells, beads, fabric, sequins,
tracing paper and yarn, sewn onto recycled paper

Bounty of the beach

Shells on sand

Girls wander the shoreline

Gather jewels in their hands

Contentedly collected then

Sewn into memories

Of lifelong friendship

Fondly recollected

- Sally Jane Carter

I made this collage as a present for my best friend, Phaedra. We met at uni over a decade ago and I imagine that we'll be enjoying each other's company well into our retirement. The collage and poem it contains is an ode to our friendship. The shells come from a beach holiday where we spent hours wandering the shoreline and collecting the ocean's jewels. They represent memories of times shared, like:

• Friday night cooking with the shared contents of our fridges at each other's houses when we both lived in Summer Hill. Usually followed by a tub of tim tam ice cream, two spoons and a dvd
• After-work drinks at Bistro-fax
• Nights at the Opera, afternoons at the Art Gallery
• Sharing a love of lists
• Pre-date fashion consultations and mid-date sms updates
• Being each other's bridesmaids
• Being a source of wisdom and acceptance for each other throughout our struggles
• Making a mess with Master Miles, baking biscuits
• Regular beauty spa sessions

Phaedra is gentle and wise and cheeky and full of substance. And there's a contentment knowing that we'll be hanging around for some time.