NEW WORKSHOPS opened this month!
Master artisans Jabbar Khatri and Asif Shaikh will join us in Oaxaca to demonstrate and teach unique Indian dyeing processes and embroidery techniques.
3 Half-Day Workshop with Asif Shaikh: “Indian Embroidery: Aari and Shisha”
11/12 – 11/14 | 9:00 – 12:30 | CASA | $275 (+$25 materials fee)
This workshop will provide an introduction to two Indian fine embroidery techniques. Use the aari hooked needle to create aari embroidery as practiced in the royal courts of the Mughal empire, building beautiful expressions of color and line from repeated fine chain stitches in silk thread. Learn to cut your own decorative mirrors and affix them using a variety of stitches to create your own interpretation of the unique art of shisha (also called “mirror-work” or abla) embroidery.
Born in Ahmedabad, a city renowned for its rich culture and textile heritage, Asif Shaikh took up needle and thread at the age of ten when embroidery was rarely pursued by young boys. As he perfected his stitches, he would try to recreate the motifs of old embroideries in all their fine and lavish detail. As years passed, his engagement with the beautiful world of embroidery became stronger and his practice and technical insight deeper. Asif has revived historical embroideries for organizations such as UNESCO Parzor, and runs his own artisan studio in Ahmedabad.
3 Half-Day Workshop with Jabbar Khatri: “Bandhani: Indian Tie-Resist Dyeing”
11/12 – 11/14 | 14:00 – 17:30 | CASA | $275 (+$30 materials fee)
Bandhani (from the Sanskrit word banda, “to tie”) dyeing, mainly practiced in Gujarat and Rajasthan, involves a number of refined processes from design to tracing to tying. Learn the basics of bandhani from a renowned artisan of a new generation who will guide you through the possibilities for dimensional transformation and original design within a traditional art form.
Jabbar Khatri belongs to the Khatri community of skilled dyers who have practiced their traditional art since the 4th century, their historical production including tie- and paste-resist dyeing, block printing, and silk-screening. Although Jabbar’s family was not involved in textile work (his great-grandfather produced fireworks for the royal family, his grandfather was in the bicycle business, and his father was a banker), Jabbar independently pursued the Khatri textile tradition and continues to sustain his community’s ancient skills through his teaching and textile designs.
November 15 - 20, 2016 