Block printing Day!! I’ve been looking forward to this for simply ages. We spent the day at Creatis - an arts centre that creates all types of upmarket patterned material - embroidered, block printed, screen printed and eco-dyed. The environment is a lovely, healthy, relaxed environment to work in.
Harshvardhan and Kunj - the Master - looked after us and taught us the process involved in block printing. We chose our beautiful handmade wood blocks to print a test piece and then a final larger piece. We pinned out the material on the padded cloth tables and started printing. It’s not as easy as it may appear.
John’s base print and border
Adding the third block to my piece.
Working my across the big piece of material with the fourth block.
Still got two more blocks to go.
I found it very meditative. You have to give the blocks a hefty thump which was also quite satisfying. At the very end we finished with bruised hands, a huge sense of achievement and happy smiles. We were presented with our test pieces which had secretly been sewn into a bag for us - it was a wonderful experience.
John’s final piece.
My final piece.
We had seen some wooden blocks been hand carved in town the previous day. The carvers are the unsung and unseen heroes. To get a set of blocks to match so perfectly is no mean feat as well as carving out all the intricate details.
Woodblock carver’s tools.
We enjoyed our time at Creatis very much. The boss recommended a restaurant hidden in the old city which turned out to be fantastic. A very good day all round.
Our walk back after a dinner and the pink streets were almost deserted, except for the cows and a few late night workers.
