A Hundred Hands

Artist Members Profile 2012-2013

A Hundred Hands Membership Programme: This programme, aims to provide a support network to small artists/ artisans/social enterprises and livelihood groups. Our mission is to help them earn a fair and sustainable livelihood through their handmade crafts - by creating opportunities to sell and evolve.

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Art/Craft
Aepan Ahimsa Silk Balms & Ointments Bengal Embroidery Carpets Channapatna Lacquer Ware Crochet Jewellery Decoupage Encaustic Art Glass Crafting Gond Paintings Handmade Paper & Products Hase Chitra Mud Painting Lambani Embroidery Madhubani Mughal Hand-Block Prints Mughal Miniatures Mughal Wood Carving and Puzzles Ojo-de-Dios Origami Papercraft Patchwork & Garments Potted Plants Recycled Denim Recycled Functional Art Sanjhi Art Smocking & Hand Embroidery Stained Glass Terracotta Pottery Warli

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Artist/Organization
Asha Ram Abdul Kalam & Group: Kalam Carpets Anjali Venkat Arati Bedekar Asad Glass Crafters Srishti Complex Belaku Trust Diya Foundation eCoexist Himjoli Hiranakshi Harshwal: Tara Karthik Vaidyanathan: Varnam Krishna Panyam Mohan Kumar Prajapati Monisha Lobo: 2 Green Thumbs Monica Mahajan Naresh & Dileep NIMHANS: Psychiatric Rehabilitation Unit Praachi Radhakrishna Bandagadde Ram Soni

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Ramona Patel Rashid Bhai: Mughal Garden Kumbaya: Samaj Pragati Sahayog Samoolam Sandur Kushala Kala Kendra Sashi Bagchi: Maati Shyam Venkat

Sonia Dhawan: Granny Gregs Suguna Rangaswami Tara Aslam: Nature Alley Tejaswani Iyer Vallari Harshwal: Fodo-Ga Vidushini Prasad Viji Panchikal Vinita Jain: Winnies Papercraft

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The Bum Bag: A Hundred Hands with NIMHANS

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The Bum Bag programme started when A Hundred Hands was approached by NIMHANS to help revitalize their tailoring centre for their psychiatric patients for creating a programme which would help the patients earn while undergoing treatment. Our task was to develop a design which was simple to execute and trendy at the same time. The result was an old pair of jeans

being transformed into a trendy handbag called The Bum Bag. The rest of the jeans were used to develop simple plastic bag dispensers and other smaller products. The Programme The programme encourages the patients to follow simple patterns and earn on each product that they make. It aims to provide a steady income to patients even after they complete their treatment. A Hundred Hands is committed to selling every one of

the bags that are stitched. The Challenge Today, the stitching has been mastered and the challenge has shifted to ensuring that there is a steady source of orders for the patients.

Arati Bedekar
Encaustic Art

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Arati Bedekar: Arati is a Bangalore based self-taught Encaustic Artist who has been working with this medium since early 2005. Beginning with a starter kit she picked up when living in England, she has produced a collection of more than 600 works of Encaustic Art. Arati has participated in many exhibitions and was also invited to take part in Mood Indigo at IIT Mumbai in 2009.

Adopting a modern form of this Greek painting technique, she is inspired by nature and landscapes and likes to experiment on different surfaces and materials. Encaustic Art: It is a technique of painting where an iron is used as paintbrush and wax are the colours. The art form dates back to ancient Greece, where beeswax was used to produce stunning effects. Colour was added

to molten beeswax and resin that was then applied to a surface. Once applied to the surface the paint doesnt need to dry. Instead it needs to cool, which it does in minutes.Additional coats can be added immediately. An advantage with this art form is the appearance of a permanent finish. In fact, one could rework the pieces seven years later.

Diya Foundation

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Diya Foundation: Vocational Training Centre in Bangalore providing training and employment to differently abled individuals. Founded in 1999, DIYA is a registered charitable trust. The idea for the centre grew out of a growing need for vocational training once basic schooling is completed. Ten years ago, there were very few options available to challenged young adults, particularly the intellectually challenged.

Chocolyn: Chocolyn was founded in loving memory of Carolyn Arulappan, in August 2007. Carolyn, a past trainee at Diya, loved to have fun and was an exuberant person. It is the mission of Chocolyn to spread the sweetness that Carolyn embodied, and in doing so, bettering the lives of the differently abled at the Diya Foundation. Candle making Unit: The candle-making unit at Diya was started in 2007, and employs many Diya trainees in making novelty candles.

Paper Mache Unit: The Papier-Mch unit churns out collectibles that are unique treasures. The bowls, fridge magnets and collectibles are all handmade and no two products are identical. The Paper Unit: They make paper bags that suit a variety of uses. The Horticulture Unit: It is Diyas latest venture and was set up with the help of a corporate sponsor.

e-Coexist

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eCoexist: eCoexist is a Pune based social enterprise. This organisation promotes eco-sensitive products, creating beauty by reviving crafts that originally used natural materials even while promoting technologies and new materials that are eco-sensitive. The Safe Festival Campaign has made significant impact across the country.

Vallari Harshwal
Fodo-Ga

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Vallari Harshwal: Vallari has done Ceramic Design from NID and has worked as a designer and buyer for well-known companies across India. Living between India and UK, Vallari has been designing a range of home products and after gaining reputation as a stained glass designer, is venturing into other product ranges with an aim to create objects which amalgamates good design with exciting

products. Fodo-Ga was started with a view to create well designed, handmade coloured glass products, for modern living. The technique used for producing these products is the ancient craft of stained glass. Fodo-Ga stands for A Foot In The Door. It was initiated with an aim to design and develop a range of home accessories, for those who value handmade products and appreciate beautiful, meaningful objects in their daily surroundings. Stained Glass Craft: Stained glass is col-

oured glass that is traditionally made by adding metallic salts during manufacture. Earlier, it was crafted into stained glass windows in which small pieces of glass arranged to form patterns or pictures, held together by strips of lead and supported by a frame. Details and stains often enhanced the design. At Fodo-ga, Vallari brings a modern twist to this traditional stained glass craft to suit contemporary living with her exciting handcrafted designs.

Radhakrishna Bandagadde
Hase Chitra

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Radhakrishna Bandagadde: Radhakrishna Bandagadde from the Shimoga district of Karnataka is a practitioner of the Hase Chitra mud paintings which are created to celebrate festivals and weddings. I see designs everywhere from temple walls to Rajasthani bed sheets and cement murals. Im basically an organic farmer

and I work with nature, so I appreciate all the colours in nature. I have always been experimenting since childhood. Working on Hase Chitra is like meditating. The art is simple and complicated at the same time. I have learnt so many things, yet there is so much more to learn. That is its strength and beauty. Hase Chitra: Mud is placed in a pot of water in the night and the next morning the sand and stones

settle down at the bottom. Radhakrishna takes the cream, adds glue and then draws on paper, the walls or any other medium using a brush, blade or his fingertips. The results are striking to see: Ochre intertwined with various colours of the Earth. He dapples with Mexican and Nigerian motifs and has managed to seamlessly integrate them into his art.

Sonia Dhawan
Granny Gregs

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Sonia Dhawan: Sonia Dhawan, a geneticist by profession, uses recipes handed down over generations and combines that with her scientifc knowledge of medicinal herbs and plants. Her Grandmas little home remedies paid off for this Bangalore-based Geneticist. Sonia Dhawan now makes her own line of balms. Reminiscent of familiar home rem-

edies and fragrances from the hills, the line of balms, six come packaged like little gifts wrapped in printed paper under the Granny Gregs tag. Granny Gregs Balms and Ointments: Handmade salves that use natural ingredients, Granny Gregs have a wide range of balms and ointments for varied uses. All the balms come in a beeswax base with infused natural oil sourced from bee farms where you get the unadulterated darker

version that actually smells of honey. The natural oils are from Shimoga. However, the chocolate one is made out of real chocolate and cocoa butter.

Abdul Kalam & Group

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Abdul Kalam: Artist Abdul Kalam and his group of carpet weavers from Mirzapur revive the traditional Kilims. Their dhurries are made by using the hand knotting technique showcasing not only fine craftsmanship but also very interesting designs integrating the traditional and the modern.

Kilim work: Kilims are flat tapestry-woven carpets or rugs. These can be purely decorative or can function as prayer rugs. The design of a kilim is made by interweaving the coloured wefts and warps--creating what is known as a flat weave-- in a pile rug individual short strands of different colour, usually of wool, are knotted onto the warps and held together by pressing the wefts tightly against each other. The design is created by these separately

knotted strands that form the pile and the patterns become visible to the eye after the excessive length of the knotted strands are shorn off. In conclusion, the kilim rug is pileless and the carpet rug has pile. Panja Work on Durries: This craft is mostly used for making durries, (light woven rugs used as a kind of floor covering). The craft gets its name from a metallic claw like tool called panja. It is a metallic, claw like fork used for beating the weft threads in the warp so as to

adjust it there. The beating is directly proportional to the stability of the durrie. Patchwork: The carpets are handcrafted using the patch work technique. The colourful patterns and textiles used are coordinated and matched leading to an end product that is in good taste. Hand knotting: Hand-knotted Persian carpets are extremely labour intensive and depend on the

dedication and vision of the weavers: The result is that hand-knotted Persian carpets are more lively and vibrant and have a lot more character than factory rugs. These last longer and improve with age, being easier to wash at the same time.

Anjali Venkat
Kabadiwali

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Anjali Venkat: Anjali is a primarily self-taught designer with a passion for art and craft, who started by creating stationery for a major bookstore. She still enjoys creating invitations, cards and gift wrappings in novel ways. While based in Chennai in 1990, she learnt the traditional South Indian art of Tanjore painting.

A travel lover, Anjali enrols herself in art workshops wherever she gets a chance; be it Italian techniques of working with glass in Europe, art pieces with fused glass at the Corning Museum of Glass in New York, and other workshops in Perth, Australia. Her fascination of stained glass since her first encounter with a kaleidoscope at the age of 10 has grown to become the passion that is Anjali Design.

Recycled Functional Art: In keeping with her quest to reuse and recycle Anjali has come up with her Kabadiwali range of functional art. For this range she has upcycled the humble glass bottle. Used and discarded glass bottles, of all types, form and colour have been collected and sorted. She also works with reclaimed wood and old magazine and calendar papers, mirror and fused glass elements.

Ahimsa Silk

Praachi

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Praachi: Praachi is an organisation that has been working in Bhagalpur in the design, production and marketing of Ahimsa silk through the efforts of its founder Varsha Rani. Bhagalpur has traditionally been famous for its silk weaving. Ahimsa Silk: Ahimsa Silk or Peace Silk is a more humane way to extract silk out of the silk-

worms without killing them. Silk extraction happens after the moths have emerged from metamorphosis. While Ahimsa Silk may lack the shine of regular silk, it is much more comfortable to wear. Its also wrinkle-free and has a better fall. And best of all, it feels good to have not killed any living being, to wear what you are wearing.

Belaku Trust

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Belaku Trust: Kirana, Deepa and Ushe The Belaku Trust was set up by a group of like-minded professionals from health and social sciences who believed that there was a need for an organization, that combined rigorous research and community involvement to improve the quality of life in the villages of Kanakapura. Though Belaku Trust was initially started as a research organization, they soon realized that re-

search was not enough and had to focus on empowering deprived rural women. Over the years they have implemented activities for sustainable livelihoods through skill and development training. Kirana: The Kirana women have been trained in making recycled paper used to make products like notepads, greeting cards, gift envelopes, gift tags, bookmarks and gift bags.

Deepa: Deepa Self-Help Group specializes in block printed products. The women make exquisite silk, scarves, T-shirts, sarongs, belts, bags, cushion covers, table runners, silk covered notebooks, tablecloths, bedspreads and gift wrap paper. Ushe: The Ushe Project, trains women in handembroidery and designing. The women make patched and embroidered bags, sarees, dress material etc.

Himjoli

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Himjoli: Himjoli means Friend in the Land of Ice. It is a social venture company that works with producer groups based in Kumaon, a mountain region in the state of Uttarakhand. Himjolis mission is to reduce migration to cities by creating sustainable jobs in the villages.

Thousands of rural farmers, artisans and womens groups are involved in this enterprise that aims to transform lives through trade, not aid. Aepan, Aarohi, Natural food from the Himalayas: Made from the best natural ingredients the Himalayas have to offer, their products include jams and preserves, honey, pickles, culinary herbs, oils, scrubs, soaps, hand

knits and hand woven products (including stoles, shawls, mufflers, accessories), organic products, pulses, spices, cereals, aepan (traditional art) and a range of traditional craft products. These not-for-profits work across several areas from education, healthcare, sustainable livelihoods, natural resource management and alternative renewable energy to womens development, panchayati raj representation etc.

Mohan Kumar Prajapati

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Mohan Kumar Prajapati: Mohan has been doing miniature painting for more than 30 years in Jaipur. He believes that people should do more to create awareness about different arts in India. Mughal Miniature Paintings: Mughal miniatures are still created today by a handful of artists. This technique involves the use of paper called Vasli,

made by joining 3 to 5 layers of paper with natural glue. The paper is placed on a glass and rubbed with a paper weight. Fine brushes made of squirrel hair are then used to paint with stone and vegetable colours. Since they are organic, the colours do not fade and remain vivid for years.

Srishti Complex -Athulya, Aranya & Dare

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Athulya: Athulya, one of the Units at Srishti Comlex, is a unique venture of Tata Global Beverages, for the rehabilitation of the physically challenged dependants of its employees. The unit originally named Vocational Training Center for the physically challenged, commenced functioning as an envelope making unit with just 12 trainees in 1991.

Today this unit has expanded so much that it almost fulfils all the stationery requirements of Tata Global Beverages in south and about 25 youngsters with special needs are benefited. Handmade Paper: They recycle waste paper, cut boards and other stationery waste from their estate offices. Athulya ventured further and decided the paper created will only use natural additives found around Munnar like tea,

eucalyptus leaves, lemon grass, pineapple leaves, onion peel, flower petals, elephant droppings and water hyacinth (which is a weed affecting our back waters). Marbling and pasted paper is also done in hand-made paper. The paper made from Eucalyptus and Lemongrass leaves acts as a natural insecticide and effectively repels small insects and silverfish. They are made into sheets and can be used for lining book shelves and cupboards. They are available in the form

of rolls, each consisting of 6 sheets of 2 different sizes. The unique pineapple leaf paper produced through a highly labour intensive process. The lantana paper made from the lantana stems, a local wild plant, is used for making various craft items. The handmade paper produced in the unit in vibrant colours and designs are used for making different items like greeting cards, letter pads, waste paper boxes craft items.

Sandur Kushala Kala Kendra

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Sandur Kushala Kala Kendra: The centre has been training tribal women from Sandur and around in the traditional craft of Lambani Embroidery using mirrors and vibrant colour for more than 25 years. The Kendra assists the Banjara tribe in design, development and marketing to keep their traditional needle craft skills contemporary.

Lambani Embroidery: Traditionally this embroidery was done on personal items of girls to be married. It was done elaborately on different household accessories that went into the brides trousseau. The traditional costume of the Lambadi woman glitters with small pieces of mirror, coins, shells and costume jewellery.

Shyam Venkat
Gond Paintings

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Gond Painting: Shyam Venkat: Shyam, born into a tribal family, started painting at ten. To make ends meet for his family, Venkat worked as a daily labourer for many years before he dreamt of following his passion for art. A winner of many awards, he shares the ethos of art and the awareness of the subtle nuances that exist in the paintings of the Gond tribe. Gond paintings were originally painted by the tribal people on the walls of their house. They were not mere decorations, but also the instant expressions of their religious sentiments and devotions. The ground and wall in this case becomes the canvas on which limestone or charcoal is used to make various decorative paintings. Common themes included tribal folk art painting based on the local festivals like Karwa Chauth, Deepawali, Ahoi Ashta-

mi, Nag Panchmi, Sanjhi etc; horses, elephants, tigers, birds, gods, men and objects of daily life in bright and multi-coloured hues. Venkat does everything from culture specific painting to highly abstract themes. He brings a certain freshness to the time honoured themes. Both modern and traditional stylistic influences have been integrated in the work.

Monica Mahajan
Bengal Embroidery

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Monica Mahajan: Designer Monica Mahajan from Kolkata, a haven for designers from all across the country, works with women in clusters in various districts of Bengal including Barasat Howrah and Hoogly to bring saris and dress material with breathtakingly amazing designs and colours to the urban folks!

Hiranakshi Harshwal
Tara

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Tara: Tara was born out of Hirnakshi Harshwals love for natural materials and handwork, in Ahmedabad. The designs are simple yet full of elegance, inspired by numerous aspects of the Indian culture.

2 Green Thumbs
Potted Plants

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2 Green Thumbs: 2 Green Thumbs understands that everyone wants a little green to brighten up their space, but in different ways. Eco-entrepreneur Monisha Lobo has a special talent for packaging the outdoors into a small space. Aided by two green thumbs, Monishas offerings, which run all the way from low-maintenance terrariums, to lush ferns in stylish planters and basic herb gardens, make great gifts.

She enjoys customizing for her customers and believes, Once you discover the plantlover in you, youll be addicted for life, just like I am. The bestsellers from her stable are an extension of her personal styleplants in unusual containers and contemporay planters

Samoolam
Crochet

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Samoolam: Samoolam started in 2009 at Gaya district of Bihar and works to promote livelihood development and environment related issues. Their Prosperity- The livelihood initiative trains women with handicrafts skills. After a year of intensive skill building session the women are able to craft beautiful handmade crochet jewellery and accessories.

At Samoolam, the hardworking employees create beautiful lifestyle products by using the art of crochet. Samoolam offers a wide variety of Handmade Crochet Jewelry, Belts, Bags & pouches available in a wonderful range of colors, patterns and designs.

Crochet: Crochet is a process of creating fabric from yarn, thread, or other material strands using a crochet hook. Hooks can be made of materials such as metals, woods or plastic and are commercially manufactured as well as produced by artisans. Crocheting, like knitting, consists of pulling loops through other loops, but additionally incorporates wrapping the working material around the hook one or more times. A single crochet hook is used instead of two knitting needles.

Mughal Garden: Mughal Hand-block Prints

Rashid Bhai

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Mughal Gardens by Master Craftsman Abdul Rashid Bhai: Affectionately known as Rashid Bhai in the trade, Abdul Rashid comes from a family of well known master wood carving craftsmen of several generations who emigrated from Multan to Jaipur during the reign of Swai Jai Singh II and initially settled in Sanganer.

Rashids meticulous design vocabulary embraces elaborate and distinct floral and geometrical Mughal motifs known for their softness and richness of colours and designs. He started his craftsmanship journey as a block maker. His fascination for creating fine hand block printed fabric inspired him in learning different techniques of printing, which he eventually implemented in his own inimitable, discernible style. He knows how to weave colour, fabric, texture

and form, letting them bloom harmoniously as a whole. In mid- 1980s Rashid Bhai and his two sons, Majid and Wahid, started their own Karkhana, known as Mughal Garden. Mughal Garden symbolizing revival of the magnificent old traditional Mughal designs, now popular all over the world. Mughal Garden fabric designs, ranging in shades from single to twelve pastel colours

and a variety of techniques like Gold, Khari, Silver and Pigment dyes are spectable standing on their own entity. The depth of the carved wooden blocks extents till 0.5-1.0 cm giving them durability and sharpness. Block history: Blocks for printing are carved and con-

structed by specialists block makers. Block makers from regions, particularly Farrukhabad have taken over much of the block making trade. Most blocks for printing, on fabric are constructed from hard, broad grained wood. Traditionally, Gurjan and Roheda wood were used to carve blocks. Roheda wood is specially suited for printing because it is light weighted and unaffected by moisture. Today most of the blocks are carved out of teak which is available in plenty and is not

only hard and broad grained but relatively light as well. The pattern is carved such that the area to be printed is left in relief while the rest is cut away approximately half cm. to one cm. away from the patterned surface. Sometimes, when finely defined patterns are to be printed, the raised pattern is constructed by using metal strips and nails embedded into the wood of the block. In a multicolored pattern, each is printed using a separate block.

Kumbaya

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Kumbaya: Kumbaya, the garment fabrication centre of Samaj Pragati Sahayog (SPS), was set up with the central mandate to empower Indias most disadvantaged people- women, Adivasis, Dalits and the poor, by creating a new skill and employment opportunity in the area. This grass roots level organization has trained over 500 unskilled women from 45 villages who previously had no option other than manual labour to make a living. Today, Contemporary

Patchwork is synonomous with Kumbaya. Kumbaya makes a range of Indian and western casual wear, duvets, patchwork cushion covers, table and bed linen, curtains, wall hangings and different types of bags and rucksacks.

Viji Panchikal
Decoupage

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like painting or inlay work. Decoupage: Decoupage is an art form where objects are decorated by gluing coloured paper cut outs to them in combination with paints, gold leaf and so on. Common objects are small boxes or furniture items which are covered by cut outs from magazines or from purpose-manufactured papers. Each layer is sealed with varnishes until the stuck on appearance disappears and the result looks Viji about Decoupage: I started doing decoupage purely as a hobby...a friend presented me a very good book on decoupage a few years ago and I read it thrice, but never worked on it....The way the lady wrote the book and her obvious passion for what she did rubbed off on me and I was hooked...I actually started doing decoupage three years ago, after my son was born, and realized that it was a

huge stress buster for me and the process in itself gave me a lot of happiness and peace...Family and couple of good friends finally stepped in last year and said that I had to start selling what I made and here I am...I took part in an exhibition in December of last year and surprised myself by doing really well...I heard of A Hundred Hands through another friend and joined them a a member since in February of this year and it has worked out very well for me.

Ram Soni
Sanjhi Art

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Pradesh, the legendary home of Krishna. Ram Soni: Mr. Ram Soni, National Award winner given by the President of India, belongs to the only family which has been involved in this art for five generations. Sanjhi Art: Sanjhi, the art of hand cutting designs on paper, is typical art of Mathura in Uttar Traditionally, motifs from the Krishna stories are created in stencil and used to decorate spaces during festive seasons, or are used for filling in with colors in water and on the floors of temples. The cutting process requires enormous skill, concentration and patience, and the fine detail is achieved with specially designed scissors. Of late, striding latticework patterns of Mughal origin as well as

more contemporary themes have been introduced to widen the repertoire. At one time this art was believed to be practiced extensively over Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat but now it survives only in Mathura.

Suguna Rangaswami
Doll Making

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ing back. Suguna Rangaswami: Suguna Rangaswami is said to be one of the first ones to have introduced fur toys in the city of Bangalore along with her friend in the early 1980s. She read about doll making in a magazine, found it interesting, and attempted to make a fur toy on her own. The frst toy came out so well that family and friends advised her to make more. From then on, theres been no lookSince nowadays, cotton or felt cloth covering is preferred to fur; for the fur available now is artificial and a few children are allergic to it. Suguna is happiest when the finished doll lives up to her satisfaction. Doll Making: A doll is much more than a toy; it is a cherished part of a childs growing up, a link between the child and the world of adults.

Doll play encourages children to explore different roles through caring for and sharing hopes, dreams and experiences with an always-understanding friend and playmate and a collectible for adults with nostalgic value. Sugunas toys are made with felt, cotton with fine sand, beans or cotton stuffing and are extremely colourful!

Vidushini Prasad
Madhubani

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Vidushini Prasad: Vidushini is a Bangalore based Madhubani Artist who was born in Kolkata. Her roots belong to Bihar, the state where Madhubani painting originated. She was born to a family of film distributors and grew up watching Hindi movies. Fascinated by Madhubani art (that originated in her home state), Vidushini started

to paint again after her first baby. Initially, it was for decorating home and making paintings for friends and relatives. But with encouragement, she had ventured much further. Madhubani: Madhubani Painting is a folk painting from the region of madhubani and its adjoining areas that are practiced by woman artists, where the trend is passed down for generations from mother to daughter.

The area in the northern part of Bihar, India known as Madhubanior Mithila has a tradition of painting walls for the beautification of their dwellings. The walls are decorated with Mythological Murals, Deities of the Hindus and with the local Flora and Fauna.

Asad Glasscrafters
Glass Crafting

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Asad Glasscrafters: Glasscrafters is set up as an exclusive stained glass studio in Bangalore, India since 1996. The founder artist, Asad Hajeebhoy has built Glasscrafters on his 30year experience of working in the art of genuine stained glass in Mumbai, Sultanate of Oman, Dubai, Israel and Bangalore. The highly skilled and experienced Glasscrafters team has executed over 2,000 prestigious stained glass projects across India

for residences, offices, hotels, and places of worship. Glass Crafting: Copper foil or Tiffany method: A full scale drawing of the selected design is made and the colours marked on it. The selected glass is placed on the design and cut into the desired shapes that when pieced together, like a jigsaw puzzle, form a pattern.

Varnam - Channapatna Lacquer Ware

Karthik Vaidyanathan

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Varnam: Varnam (colours) is an ode to colourful India. They craft philosophy is to bring our design expertise to traditional crafts and textiles of South India so as to reorient them to todays context . They constantly engage with craftspeople and have a dialogue on current market trends in terms of finish, utilitarian value, attention to detail, etc. In doing so, they hope to enhance the

sense of pride amongst our master craftspeople for their skill and ensure that these crafts continue to thrive. Channapatna: Each product in the Stories from Channapatna series has been painstakingly handcrafted by an artisan from Channapatna, Karnataka using the age-old tradition of lac-turnery. Traditionally used to make toys, this craft requires tremendous skill and precision. In an industry where more than 90% of the artisans are men, most of

Varnams products have been deftly handcrafted by women artisans. The colours used are natural non-toxic dyes. Channapatna, a small town on the outskirts of Bangalore, is popular for its wooden toys and lacquer-ware. As a result of the popularity of these toys, Channapatna is also known as Gombegala Ooru (toytown) of Karnataka. Its traditional craft is protected as a geographical indication (GI) under the World Trade Organization, administered by the Government of

Karnataka. The origin of these toys can be traced to the reign of Tipu Sultan who invited artisans from Persia to train the local artisans in the making of wooden toys. The Lac-turnery craft This craft involves several independent steps. The soft wood of the hale tree (Wrightia tinctoria) or Aale mara is first turned into circular shapes by the dexterous use of hand, power lathes and suitable cutting tools. The turned wooden items are

then lacquered by means of frictional heat. Painted lac deposits itself on the turned wood and gives it a bright and colourful appearance. To finish the process, the lacquered piece is buffed with the leaves of the talegiri (Pandanus odoratissimus) that gives it that glossy finish. Karthik Vaidyanathan: Karthik is an Engineer-MBA with over 14years of experience in the media industry music, radio and cable television. Around a year ago, he started working on

a hands-on basis with artisans. Being in a full-time job, he would travel to Channapatna over weekends and holidays. What started as a way to satisfy his creative urge and help the artisans has now paved the way for a social enterprise. In the coming year he envisions Varnam to become a profitable enterprise that will continue to give fair wages to artisans and encourage them to think beyond their boundaries.

Mughal Woodcarving and Puzzles

Asha Ram

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Jali work: Asha Ram: Asha Ram, the delightful old man of Mughal Hand Carvings, has been involved in creating beautiful products out of Sheesham, Ebony and Rosewood almost all his life. The prominent style that can be seen in the design patterns that he creates is Mughal. Carving jaalis on wood and ivory has been a very passionate art form since Mughal times. As being the most intricate art form, the artisans who were highly skilled were encouraged with rewards for creating most outstanding jaalis to be used in Mughal palaces. The heritage continues and still the art is practiced in the country by a few highly skilled artisans who have now started

making utility gifts and home products in wood. Each piece of carved jaali work is a masters creation and speaks volumes of rich Indian heritage. Asha Rams range of Mughal Combs are a delight for any lover of art and history. Wood carving: Wood carving is a form of working wood by means of a cutting tool (knife) in one hand or a chisel by two hands or with one hand on a chisel and one hand on a mallet,

resulting in a wooden figure or figurine, or in the sculptural ornamentation of a wooden object. Asha Ram has been instrumental in passing on this craft to many youngsters and has played a significant role in helping both livelihoods and keeping the art alive. Handcrafted Wooden Puzzles: His latest passion is a delightful range of handcrafted puzzles. These mind benders only reinforce the adage that the most com-

plicated problems have a simple solution. Try your hand at these and get hooked for life.

Maati: Terracotta Pottery

Sashi Bagchi

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Maati by Sashi Bagchi My objective for working with clay is to revive a dying art, working for the upliftment of potters and to educate people about the benefits of terracotta products , an eco-friendly material. Planters are porous and clay articles enhance the aesthetic level of a garden. Cooking utensils contain no chemicals and food cooked and consumed from these

utensils cool the body. It retains heat for long hence consumes less fuel. In my own small way Im trying to contribute to saving the environment.

Krishna Panyam
Origami

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Origami: Krishna Panyam: Krishna Panyam has been practising origami for more than 8 years. He likes to create objects with a variety of paper that is available all around us. He is a software engineer by profession. Krishnas goal is to make Origami popular in Bengaluru and to start an Origami group in the city. Origami is the art of paper folding. Origami techniques are used to create a world of functional and abstract figures from a flat sheet of material. Typically folding an Origami model does not require the use of glue, tape, clips, or any other method of keeping the model in shape. Most of us would have had some fun making a boat, airplane, or a water bomb from paper in their childhood, but as we grow,

we tend to stop having fun. Krishnas goal is to bring this craft back into our adult lives. Krishna likes to use the paper that is available all around us, such as newspaper, business cards, cardboard, invitation cards, tetrapak, etc. to make interesting objects. He also likes to use Origami, and paper crafts in general, to teach mathematical concepts. To the untrained eye, a piece of paper is

just scrap, but to the Origami artist, it is full of possibilities. It could be a bird, wallet, or a plane. When you fold a piece of paper into an interesting object, the transformation is amazing. The beauty of Origami is in its simplicity. All you need to practice Origami is paper, and your hands. Origami has developed methods for most of the common geometrical and mathematical operations such as dividing a line into 5 parts.

Origami, as with many other arts and crafts, also works as an effective stress buster.

Tara Aslam
Nature Alley

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Nature Alley: I floated Nature Alley to do my bit toward keeping the tradition of khadi alive. says Tara Karnataka is a khadi hub. In fact, the Indian flag is made from the khadi sourced from here. I want to, in my own small way, help the weavers in the state. I have recently tied up with the Janapada Seva Trust to encourage weavers in Melkote.

Taking another step ahead in the direction of community building, Tara also gets rural women to execute her designs. Initially it was quite a challenge to make them understand my needs and requirements. More than anything, it was the choice of colours that we differed on. They felt my choice of colours were very mara hua! and wanted to use really bright colours. But now they are conditioned to understand the tastes of urbanites. The finish of the products is an importantfactor I ask them to focus on, adds Tara.

Her latest collection includes salwars, kurtas and tops. Urban silhouettes on desi fabrics is what the collection is all about. Since I wanted to play with the beauty of the fabric and let people enjoy khadi, I have kept the embroidery on it minimal, says Tara. A range of happy colours dominate this line of clothing. Bangles, bags, necklaces and patch work quilts are also a part of the collection. Kalamkari prints are also put to good use while designing the garments.

Naresh & Dileep

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Warli Art: Naresh & Dileep: This is a story of two friends brought together by the love of the art. Living in rural Maharashtra, the duo have experimented with the traditional Warli art to evolve a signature stle of their own. Their finesse and attention to detail draws the viewer into an emotional journey with their intricate patterns. Warli folk art has its origins in Maharashtra. Warli is the name of the largest tribe found on the northern outskirts of Mumbai. The word Warli comes from warla which means a piece of land or a field. Warli Art was first discovered in the early seventies. While there are no records of the exact origins of this art, its roots may be traced to as early as the 10th century AD. Warli is the vivid expression of daily and social events of the Warli tribe of Maha-

rashtra, used by them to decorate the walls of village houses. This was the only means of transmitting folklore to a others who are not acquainted with the written word. These paintings do not depict mythological characters or images of deities, but depict social life. Images of human beings and animals, along with scenes from daily life are created in a loose rhythmic pattern. Painted white on mud walls, they are pretty close to pre-historic cave paintings in execution and usually depict scenes of hu-

man figures engaged in activities like hunting, dancing, sowing ,harvesting, going out, drawing water from well, drying clothes or even dancing. Warli paintings on paper have become very popular and are now sold all over India. Today, small paintings are done on cloth and paper but they look best on the walls or in the form of huge murals that bring out the vast and magical world of the Warlis. For the Warlis, tradition is still adhered to but at the same time new ideas have been al-

lowed to seep in which helps them face new challenges from the market.

Tejasweeni Iyer
Ts Ojo-de-Dioss

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Ts Ojo-de-Dios: (Associate member of A Hundred Hands) Ts Ojo-de-Dios is an enterprise run single handedly by Tejasweeni Iyer and aims at getting more people to know about it. TODD has a few products like wall hangings, coasters, hairbands, pendants and brooches to offer. They also conduct workshops at regular intervals.

Everything that is woven at TODD is a one of its kind product because every piece is hand made and thus unique in its own way! Patterns and colours are not repeated. Ojo-de-Dios: Ojo de Dios is a Spanish phrase that literally means eye of God, though some also refer to it as Gods eye. The Ojo de Dios features four, eight or 12 sides, which are symmetrical. The sides of the object are made of wood, typically thin and flexible

reeds. Yarn is then wrapped around the edges and sides to create an eye-catching pattern. In the exact middle of the Ojo de Dios is a rectangular piece covered in a contrasting color. These are typically 12 inches long, though some modern day examples are much smaller or larger, some measuring two feet or longer. t

Vinita Jain
Winnies Papercraft

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Hand Embroidery & Smocking

Ramona Patel

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