Art Log

In January of this year, my husband and I flew to Delhi, then toured magnificent Rajasthan.  Many of our stops included carpet factories where woolen and silk carpets were made and sold but the last stop was in a rural area of Jaipur where we stopped at a cotton Dhurrie cooperative. The dyes are all natural and the weaving is done open air with a rug sometimes taking months, even a year, to knot, tie and cut, forming intricate or bold patterns.  I was stunned by the colours of these rugs as they were tossed into an open courtyard for us to view and purchase.  Here are some photos of the proprietor and his wife, their works and those of other cooperative members.

During our trip we also visited textile dealers who made silk and cashmere wraps for Liberty of London.  Some are on display in these photos:

No one on tour could resist purchasing one or several of these beautiful wraps or other cashmere or real pashmina wraps (made from the underbelly of Kashmiri goats, not the rayon scarves sold here as pashminas).  

I have been heavily influenced by what I saw in India and I still remain under the spell.  While it is harvest time here and the zucchinis are in, I wondered how I might incorporate the fabric images.  First a sketch:

Then the painting of the zucchinis . . . and finally the yellow Indian carpet for a background.