Indian Arcadia

Krsna Sporting with the Gopis Kishanghar, c. 1820I don’t know much about Indian Miniatures, but – as they say – I do know what I like! I have always been fascinated by the extraordinary detail in these miniature artworks, which I have also admired in English miniatures of the sixteenth century.

During my first year of art college I saw an exhibition of the Sultan Suleiman Collection at the National Gallery of Victoria. (My friend Rapunzel remembered the name of the exhibition, but I am not sure why the collection was named after the Emperor of the Ottoman Empire.)

Malasri Ragini, Ragamala – Malwa, Central India, c.1640

I was in awe of the incredible detail and the extraordinary patience it must have taken on behalf of the artists to create these pictures. On some of them every leaf on every tree was painted individually, and the equivalent of yards and yards of fabric were embroidered in paint. The colours are always so joyous and lively too – they sparkle like jewels, bedecked in gilt – some in fact incorporated pure beaten gold and precious gems. 

… the equivalent of yards and yards of fabric were embroidered in paint

Lady with deer

The art of Indian Miniature paintings can be traced back to the 6th or 7th century AD, evolving and influenced by other cultures over time. Unlike Western miniatures, Indian artists employed multiple perspectives in order to convey the idea that reality existed beyond a single vantage point. (Similarly the Egyptians paid little attention to realistic perspective, and showed people or objects from their most recognisable angle.)

Indian Miniature artists worked on paper, ivory panels, wooden tablets, leather, marble, cloth and walls, using pigments made from minerals and vegetables. Pieces were finished with burnishing to achieve an even, enamel-like lustre. 

Here are some gorgeous pictures painted in my favourite warm, golden tones – landscapes of Arcadia. 

Read more about the history of Indian Miniatures here. Click on images for sources.

Man with falcon, Akbar period, 1600–1605Lady holding a lotus

(Top, left) Raga Kalinga, (top, right) Raga Panchama, (above left) Ragini Gunakali, (above, right) Raga Lalita.

Ikat Fascination

I really am fascinated by ikat. The designs I like most are the very bold, simple geometric patterns that use minimal colour. The most beautiful aspect of this textile is the way in which the uniquely dyed threads merge softly on the loom, creating a distinctive, subtle blur.

The thread is painstakingly dyed before it is woven. The dying process is intricate: the thread is first coated in a resist (wax), tied with pieces of fabric, then dipped into various coloured dyes. This process is performed repeatedly, resulting in an elaborate multicolour warp. On the loom, the coloured warp is woven with the undyed weft. The distribution of colour is carefully controlled to create the characteristic patterns, traditionally incorporating motifs such as tulips, pomegranates and trees. 

Ikat weaving is found in many countries, including Japan, Thailand, India, Afghanistan, Greece, Morocco and Uzbekistan. In fact, the word ‘ikat’ comes from the Malay-Indonesian verb mengikat, ‘to bind, tie or wind around’.

Here is a selection of some lovely ikat fabrics to scroll through, and you can also revisit my story on Russian textiles, for more examples on antique costume constructed from ikat, as well as printed cottons. 

(Left) www.smith.edu, (right) www.ethno-textil.com(Left) www.blogger-index.com, (right) laurakiran.com(Left) site.alifosterpatterns.com, (right) www.fschumacher.com(Left) www.classicallyb.com, (right) www.katyelliott.com

Not for Wallflowers

A young Florence BroadhurstBorn in rural Queensland, Florence Broadhurst (1899–1977), possibly most well-known for her colourful wallpapers, lead an equally colourful life. After stints around the world, including Shanghai and England, she eventually returned home with her husband and son in 1949. Ten years later, Florence established her wallpaper business, advertised as ‘the only studio of its kind in the world’.

Her brightly-coloured wallpaper certainly seemed larger than life, bursting on the eye in a kaleidoscope of wild geometric patterns …

Florence Broadhurst paintingHer brightly-coloured wallpaper certainly seemed larger than life, bursting on the eye in a kaleidoscope of wild geometric patterns and oversized designs inspired by nature, and surely in part by William Morris and Art Nouveau in general. They were all hand-printed, and technological advances made in her studio included printing on metallic surfaces, and the development of a washable, vinyl-coating finish.

By 1972 her range included about 800 designs in 80 different colours, and today designers such as Akira Isogawa, Nicky Zimmerman, Karen Walker and Kate Spade have been granted license to use them in their fashion designs. There is so much life and vibrancy in her designs – they’re really not for wallflowers!

Check out Gillian Armstrong’s docu-drama Unfolding Florence to find out more about this Aussie icon.

Kate Spade fashion incorporating Broadhurst fabricsA Broadhurst rug

Be Still My Bleeding Hearts

My two favourite heart prints, bursting with passionAnd here is my Bleeding Hearts potato print pattern. Poor little things. The blood … I mean, paint is spurting everywhere. That happened as I lifted the potato off the paper. Funnily, as I was designing the simple pattern, I realised I needed an extra heart and ended up merging two dud hearts into one. Now, isn’t that a lovely thought to finish on?

Lessons in Potato Printing

I finally got round to trying my hand at potato printing. Before I started, I thought, how hard could it be? After all, tiny ten-thumbed primary school children do it every day of the year.

Although it was not in fact difficult at all, there were a few things I learned in the process:

1. Cut through your potato straight as possible using a very sharp knife (not recommended for said tiny ten-thumbed primary school children)
2. Make sure your paint is not 15 years old and either dried up in the tube, or separated into oil and pigment, with the oil all in the top of the tube
3. An even not-too-thick, not-too-thin consistency of paint is best (I call this the Goldilocks principle); a palette knife is helpful in spreading the paint
4. A lot more pressure than expected is required when stamping

Potatoes get the chop!My first few heart stamps bled all over the place. This was disheartening (later when they had dried, I decided I rather liked these bleeding hearts). The next series of hearts were all stumpy and broken. On my third go I managed to stamp a few acceptable hearts with judicious manipulation of my wonkily-cut potato, (although in my heart I felt this was cheating).

I plan to create some fun surface patterns from these impressions. Until then, check out the fun Hipstamatic pics on my Facebook page.

*Apologies for all the puns.