onsdag 16 december 2009

WORK IN PROGRESS 1

START OF A NEW IMAGE  This is a piece of an embroidery from Rajasthan. It was meant for a beautyful dress, but something happened and the dress was never sewn.Then the family needed money, I suppose. So the piece was sold to a textile collector, Mr. LN Kathri in Desert Handicraft Emporium in Jaisalmer, where I found it. And it was my startingpoint for an idea about a big embroidered  image.
This is a sketch, showing a khadeen, which is a sort of dam, that people create in Monsoon-time to keep water in one place, like a small lake.It should be in between hills of sand, which become so called catchment areas.Where this lake has collected water it is very humide after some days and in this wet soil it is possible to grow different crops.I imagine the flowery embroidery to become an image of this cultivated area. On both sides there are the hills collecting drops of water which are seeping into the ground and seeks to the villagers  dug wells.

Last week I made the printed background. The biggest piece of cloth  is now  to be converted to a meaningful story about how to cultivate and use water in the desert.That can be a sometimes painful process.

And this is the view from my studiowindow on the 16th of December 2009. The birds are happy for the seeds which are hanging in the tree. Mice are invading the house, I also find two of them in the refrigerator! It´s nice to stay indoors such a day. Elsa