Namaste to all!
Here’s a missive from the place I consider my second home… Nepal! And those of you dear readers who plan to join me here next year might get some sneak previews! It’s been fabulous…chaotic, frustrating, exciting, colourful, energising, exhausting, inspiring and the time is going so fast!!! The usual things. One priority for this visit, while being flexible to new and emerging situations(!), has been to help the polymer artists of Samunnat Nepal to consolidate the learning they’ve been doing via Zoom with Christine Dumont and Kathleen Dustin about design elements. We’re exploring these as a way of equipping the women, helping them to discover tools to make thoughtful design decisions and become increasingly independent in this aspect.
It’s not all polymer. In this photo, Kopila and I are buying naphthalene balls from a gorgeous Tibetan woman. Well Kopila is negotiating the price and I am trying not to ogle the woman’s magnificent necklace of turquoise, amber and coral. I’m also recalling the practise of wearing a washer on your head. This is not uncommon for women of a certain age in Dharan. I always thought that the day I popped a washer on my head might be the day I knew it was time to return to Australia.
Part of our goal has been to work out the Nepali vocabulary to discuss our ideas. Sometimes exactly the right word doesn’t exist (This goes both ways!). The kindest way to describe my Nepali would be that it’s basic and enthusiastic. Sometimes wildly inaccurate but nearly always good for a laugh. We’ve managed to come up with suitable Nepali words for some things and use the English for others. The women are excited to be discovering a new range of tools and can see how this will help them make intentional choices. The earrings they made here were to explore analogous colour combinations and the design element of pattern. They made strips of different patterns using Pan Pastels and white clay and then decided how to arrange them to create a pleasing and cohesive whole. They loved that these looked like Sari fabrics.
We also explored shape, size and value contrasts with achromatic and monochromatic colour schemes. Some of you will recall doing something similar in Canberra classes! The women are getting more adventurous and more confident to try their own designs (not just copy what one or two of the more confident ones are doing!) which is fabulous.
Nepalis are justifiably proud of daaka, a traditional hand woven fabric used fo the topis (hats) worn by the men and lots of other clothing including saris. Daaka designs can be very intricate and often vary from region to region. On our tour, we’re able to visit a workshop where the fabric is made and see the complicated looms and the beautiful designs emerging.
The colour of the warp thread makes a big difference (it’s usually black or blue. White is very prized) and we explored the impact of this in colour mixing exercises. Again, the women are working on their own designs, taking into account the complexity fo the fabric design. It is so exciting watching them make decisions and being able to talk about WHY they are doing certain things.
I’ll sign off with a few photos of various expeditions! I am here with wonderful Janice Laurent who is teaching another group of women sewing skills. With the lovely Kopila, we did some reconnaissance trips for next year and got a bit side tracked by Tibetan medicinal spices and brass. And fabrics. And fruit and vegetables! We were often asked by older women if they could take a selfie with us. Even though our jewellery was nowhere near as fabulous as theirs!! We’re the only two silver haired biddies in the east it seems. And as it was the Diwali season, everything was festooned with marigolds making for a truly GORGEOUS array fo colours. Feast your eyes babies!
