ROHINI ARORA
Dr. Rohini Arora
Assistant Professor
(Guru Gobind Singh College for Women, Punjab University, Chandigarh)
9871118246
drrohini80@gmail.com
She is an academic and design consultant with reputed institutions with seven years of teaching and eleven years of experience in field of Indian traditional crafts. She has done Masters in Home Science in Textiles and Clothing from Lady Irwin College, Delhi University. Ph.D degree was awarded in Fabric and Apparel Science, Department of Home science, Lady Irwin College, Delhi University in May 2015 on thesis title ‘Capacity Building of Artisans for the Sustenance of Traditional Chamba Embroidery’. She was empanelled as designer in Textiles and Clothing with the Office of the Development Commissioner (Handicrafts) in October 2013 and December 2016. She initiated the project on revival of Chamba Embroidery as her Ph.D dissertation since 2007 and still continuing in her own capacity with team of artisans for revival of languishing craft. She has presented her work at various prestigious platforms in form of presentations, research papers and displayed research products in exhibitions at national and international level. Her recent exhibitions was held at IIC and later ones sponsored by ICCR and embassy of Serbia and Berne displayed in Belgrade and many art centers in Switzerland in 2018.
Supervisors: Dr. Ritu Mathur, Dr. Veena Gupta
Assistant Professor
(Guru Gobind Singh College for Women, Punjab University, Chandigarh)
9871118246
drrohini80@gmail.com
She is an academic and design consultant with reputed institutions with seven years of teaching and eleven years of experience in field of Indian traditional crafts. She has done Masters in Home Science in Textiles and Clothing from Lady Irwin College, Delhi University. Ph.D degree was awarded in Fabric and Apparel Science, Department of Home science, Lady Irwin College, Delhi University in May 2015 on thesis title ‘Capacity Building of Artisans for the Sustenance of Traditional Chamba Embroidery’. She was empanelled as designer in Textiles and Clothing with the Office of the Development Commissioner (Handicrafts) in October 2013 and December 2016. She initiated the project on revival of Chamba Embroidery as her Ph.D dissertation since 2007 and still continuing in her own capacity with team of artisans for revival of languishing craft. She has presented her work at various prestigious platforms in form of presentations, research papers and displayed research products in exhibitions at national and international level. Her recent exhibitions was held at IIC and later ones sponsored by ICCR and embassy of Serbia and Berne displayed in Belgrade and many art centers in Switzerland in 2018.
Supervisors: Dr. Ritu Mathur, Dr. Veena Gupta
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Designs and motifs in traditional Chamba embroideries have deep rooted cultural significance. They were symbolic of the beliefs of the community who created embroidered masterpieces using the simplest of raw materials and stitches. The designs and motifs used were very specific to embroideries and characterized by the selective treatment given to them. In order to sustain this craft the author considered it crucial to document the original designs and motifs along with other aspects of the craft. The themes represented in embroidered coverlets of Chamba are well known and have been interpreted by many scholars. However, the varied motifs used in the embroideries need to be documented, which was the focus of this paper. In an exploratory field survey, it was observed that the embroiderers were not well versed in drawing and did not have access to the traditional themes, designs and motifs. Therefore, a ‘design catalogue’ was developed for capacity building of artisans and for use as reference material to create awareness with respect to traditional themes, designs and motifs. This paper presents the research undertaken in the production of the ‘design catalogue’, which included processing of 137 photographs of museum pieces, development and the classification of 768 sketched motifs. The observation of two different styles of motif; folk and miniature style. The development of the catalogue is described and subsequent intervention work with artisans, product development and exhibition towards sustenance of the traditional craft of Chamba embroidery.
Key words: Embroidered Coverlets; Chamba; Design Catalogue; Folk Style; Miniature Style
The pictorial qualities of these coverlets had been much studied by several scholars. However, its technical study and decorative characteristics had not got much attention, which is the focus of this paper. Technical characteristics included different types of stitches, direction of stitches and outline stitch. Whereas, decorative characteristics include features which were extensively used to enhance visual appeal and aesthetics like color, ornamentation (shingar), textures, finishing stitches (sajawati tankae) and edgings. Several interesitng and important aspects of embroidery tradition has come out through this study.
offerings made both for gods and rulers (Sharma, 2009). In later centuries, unavailability of silk yarns and inappropriate use of colors adversely affected the quality of embroidered products.Hence, a sustainable approach was adopted to achieve the aesthetics of embroidery and to explore new possibilities under changed circumstances. The study was undertaken to develop
standardized recipes for dyeing base cloth and untwisted yarns used for embroidery in traditional color palette using natural dyes available locally. This would comprise of extraction, application of selected natural dyes on cotton fabric and silk yarns as well as testing of dyed material for color fastness properties. Natural sources of dyes that were easily available to the artisans in Chamba were selected for dyeing. Also, due to limitations of infrastructure available with artisans, ease and simplicity of application of dyes was of utmost importance. Bleached cotton fabric was dyed in a color used traditionally for embroidery. The shades developed for embroidery yarns were in line with those used in earlier times in 18th century. Dyed fabric and embroidery yarns were color fast to washing, dry cleaning and light. Intervention with the
artisans was carried out by conducting interactive workshops and follow up field visits to Chamba. Interventions through workshops helped in capacity building of the artisans and proved invaluable. They helped the artisans to reorient themselves towards sustenance of the traditional
form of craft.
Keywords: Embroidered Coverlets, Chamba, Decorative Characteristics, Metal Threads, Ornamentation, Textures
Keywords: Chamba Embroidery, Folk Embroidery, Fabric Catalogue, Thread Count, Satin Stitch
Keywords: Traditional technique, Technical characteristics, Embroidery stitches, Stitch direction, Outline stitch, Intervention
KEYWORDS: Pahari embroidery, sustainable approach, extraction, application of dyes, color fastness test, intervention
Designs and motifs in traditional Chamba embroideries have deep rooted cultural significance. They were symbolic of the beliefs of the community who created embroidered masterpieces using the simplest of raw materials and stitches. The designs and motifs used were very specific to embroideries and characterized by the selective treatment given to them. In order to sustain this craft the author considered it crucial to document the original designs and motifs along with other aspects of the craft. The themes represented in embroidered coverlets of Chamba are well known and have been interpreted by many scholars. However, the varied motifs used in the embroideries need to be documented, which was the focus of this paper. In an exploratory field survey, it was observed that the embroiderers were not well versed in drawing and did not have access to the traditional themes, designs and motifs. Therefore, a ‘design catalogue’ was developed for capacity building of artisans and for use as reference material to create awareness with respect to traditional themes, designs and motifs. This paper presents the research undertaken in the production of the ‘design catalogue’, which included processing of 137 photographs of museum pieces, development and the classification of 768 sketched motifs. The observation of two different styles of motif; folk and miniature style. The development of the catalogue is described and subsequent intervention work with artisans, product development and exhibition towards sustenance of the traditional craft of Chamba embroidery.
Key words: Embroidered Coverlets; Chamba; Design Catalogue; Folk Style; Miniature Style
The pictorial qualities of these coverlets had been much studied by several scholars. However, its technical study and decorative characteristics had not got much attention, which is the focus of this paper. Technical characteristics included different types of stitches, direction of stitches and outline stitch. Whereas, decorative characteristics include features which were extensively used to enhance visual appeal and aesthetics like color, ornamentation (shingar), textures, finishing stitches (sajawati tankae) and edgings. Several interesitng and important aspects of embroidery tradition has come out through this study.
offerings made both for gods and rulers (Sharma, 2009). In later centuries, unavailability of silk yarns and inappropriate use of colors adversely affected the quality of embroidered products.Hence, a sustainable approach was adopted to achieve the aesthetics of embroidery and to explore new possibilities under changed circumstances. The study was undertaken to develop
standardized recipes for dyeing base cloth and untwisted yarns used for embroidery in traditional color palette using natural dyes available locally. This would comprise of extraction, application of selected natural dyes on cotton fabric and silk yarns as well as testing of dyed material for color fastness properties. Natural sources of dyes that were easily available to the artisans in Chamba were selected for dyeing. Also, due to limitations of infrastructure available with artisans, ease and simplicity of application of dyes was of utmost importance. Bleached cotton fabric was dyed in a color used traditionally for embroidery. The shades developed for embroidery yarns were in line with those used in earlier times in 18th century. Dyed fabric and embroidery yarns were color fast to washing, dry cleaning and light. Intervention with the
artisans was carried out by conducting interactive workshops and follow up field visits to Chamba. Interventions through workshops helped in capacity building of the artisans and proved invaluable. They helped the artisans to reorient themselves towards sustenance of the traditional
form of craft.
Keywords: Embroidered Coverlets, Chamba, Decorative Characteristics, Metal Threads, Ornamentation, Textures
Keywords: Chamba Embroidery, Folk Embroidery, Fabric Catalogue, Thread Count, Satin Stitch
Keywords: Traditional technique, Technical characteristics, Embroidery stitches, Stitch direction, Outline stitch, Intervention
KEYWORDS: Pahari embroidery, sustainable approach, extraction, application of dyes, color fastness test, intervention
In the field survey, the purpose of making this book was realized where it was observed that the embroiderers were not well versed in drawing elaborate themes known for their intricacies. Moreover, they did not have access to the traditional themes, designs, and motifs. Instead, they drew by looking into calendars or drawing books for any reference while drawing or tracing.
Most of the embroidery centres’ coordinators have known miniature artists and get their rumals or small designs directly from them. But, on the other hand, at the embroiderer's end who is not working in any centres, they make drawings independently or use tracing papers.
However, it was observed that these traced designs lacked clarity, fineness, and detailing. It is also essential to document the indigenous motifs of embroidery as these are the identity of that particular craft. Documentation will make these embroideries more interactive to the readers and help them understand their significance to a large extent.
Therefore, a design directory is developed for the capacity building of artisans, which can be used as reference material to reorient the artisans concerning traditional themes, designs, and motifs. The directory illustrates indigenous motifs of both embroidery styles, i.e., double-sided and single-sided embroidery practiced in the same region. In addition, it also documents indigenous stitches, decorative aspects in details. It will also bring a particular focus on single-sided embroidery, which is lesser-known. Finally, the rich collection of motifs will bring froth the splendour of pahari embroidery in totality.