Block printing in Mumbai Part 2

The workshop in Mumbai run by the very talented Blocks and Prints was part of my great fabric and textiles adventure in India. Part 1 covers a bit of the history about textiles, find it here.

The print starts with the block, here you can see the positive and negative prints blocks. The outlines are stamped on and then filler blocks are used to add the necessary color to each intricate design.

The blocks were used to create the fabric that is shown. I love both the positive and negative patterns shown on the fabric. 

The paint we used was pigment mixed with a fixer agent. I currently use acrylic paints with a textile medium and have found them to be very good with a great hand feel and good wash quality. The trays we used were made of leather (drool) and a piece of fabric, jute like in appearance but made from wool which helps soak up the paint and keep it even.Ms Rao suggested wool felt as an alternative which is something I must try. The paint is poured on and then evened out with a spreader to help the process along. The saturated cloth is then used as a stamp pad for the ink.

I normally dab the paint on with a sponge which is great for small projects and being conservative with paint. However the fabric method meant a much more even paint distribution on the block and then on the fabric. 

The blocks normally have registration marks on them to help know which ends line up. The double lines on this one meant the print lined up with no gaps as we printed a long boarder. 

The block is dipped into the ink then placed registration side down first then followed by the other side. A swift fist is used to whack the block to help the paint  transfer (I must say by the end of the day I was in pain!) and then carefully lifted off to reveal the print. 

Lining up the registration marks...

Second colors are added by using a filler block which has been cut to fit the needs of the original  outline or rekha print. Some patterns have three or four fillers or duttas which then add many colors to the print. 

Loving my peacock on wheels :) 

The fabric I made to take with me was on white cotton and I used three blocks for the main body and two for the bottom edge.

I plan to turn it into a skirt. The planning takes the most time as figuring out which blocks to use together was quite a challenge for me also then colour combo's and the most amazing  

I suspect all over large blocks are easier to work with than placement prints. I used the large circular print in orange and used the dutta filled in blue. I then used an Ikat print in between to add color and design.The bottom edge which is not shown here has three lines of orange and a boarder print in blue. I will post a picture of the skirt when done.  

The variety of the prints and blocks available is amazing, Ms Rao has several cupboards full of blocks and they were organised by boarders, paisleys, flowers, animals etc.. the combinations are of course endless. The best bit for me was how easy it was to do, once I did one line the start was dry which meant you could keep printing, unlike screen prints which require extensive amounts of time to touch dry, this method was amazing as you could keep going! stopping only when done. The print does need to be cured or left to line dry for two nights before running a hot iron on the reverse to set the print. 

A note when buying blocks, 

I was shopping for blocks and saw ones done in brass which I purchased not knowing what and how to use them. The lines in those are much finer with the wooden blocks soaking up a lot more color. 

Look at the design on the block, make sure the lines are clean with no breaks on them. All blocks are not made equal and some are very roughly carved while others are beautifully intricate. 

Block Printing in Mumbai Part 1

On my list of things to do while in India, was of course to try and do a a part of the textile trail. I did some on line research I found Shymila Rao, of Blocks and Prints who runs block printing workshops in Mumbai. I mailed her and we soon had a date for some lovely block printing to happen.

Part of the workshop was an intro into textiles forms of  the Indus valley which followed the flow of the river. Dyers, weavers and textile artists lived along the banks as water was a vital part of the process of creating fabric. Each area had it's own tradition and in the past, each print could have easily been identified regionally. The Rajasthan area is now most known for the textile processes done there and the hot dry weather of the region is perfect for the natural dyeing process that has been typical for the area. I learned though that there were lots of regions producing very distinct looking fabric using specific techniques and natural dye combinations etc.. The pictures below has textile examples from the Bagh region and the Ajrak region as well. There are more out there, these were simply the two I picked to highlight. The most obvious difference was of course the colours and patterns used. One was floral and very easy  on the eye, the other far more bold and obvious in colour and print style.

Bagh fabrics

Ajrak fabrics

The influence of the Islamic motifs were everywhere. Having been to the Taj Mahal on this trip I recognized the diamonds and star patterns on everything

Some of the places and processes that were discussed during the workshop sounded amazing! The pictures below are of work done with dyeing, block printing, over printing,  resist printing using a natural mud resist and finally an indigo vat.

Happiness! In the next part I will discus the process and the blocks, the wonderful wooden blocks...