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The art of the artisan

Aditi De

``I remember my grandmother working with women weavers of the Tejpur Mahala Hamiti in Assam,'' recalls textile designer Julie Kagti, exploring her current engagement with the art of artisan communities. ``Theirs is a very free-flowing expression. I never give them designs, only a budget and the kind of look I want. Perhaps all they need is inputs with dyeing and finishing.''

Her respect for rural artisans permeates her thoughts about her other craft links, the Gandhi Rural Rehabilitation Centre at Alampundi (near Pondicherry), and her own embroidery unit at Pennaconda in Andhra Pradesh, which engages between 40 to 90 gypsy a nd Muslim women.

Is there a perceptible divide between the urban artist and the rural artisan? Julie responds, ``There is. They feel alienated from both the product and the price when they view it at a city exhibition. They only relate to their own labour. Yet, we have t o factor in travel, the yarn and so on.''

Citing the case of a kantha-embroidered sari, Julie explains that the fabric would cost about Rs 400, the craftsmanship Rs 1, 200. But the result would sell for Rs. 2,500 plus taxes in urban India.

Can this schism be resolved? ``When some women at Pennaconda wanted to work full-time, I tried to help with their children's education and certain medical expenses. Training programmes could enhance their role,'' she answers. ``Right now, all we offer ar e monetary incentives.''

The Pennaconda project now attempts contemporary Indian textile explorations. ``Instead of ornamenting the fabric, we stress the texture,'' Julie says. ``For instance, we pucker it with embroidery to highlight its texture. Often, these women give me thei r inputs. As they embroider, they gain self-confidence.''

At the Alampundi polio-rehabilitation centre, whose main output was yardage, Julie translated their loom skills into silk-cotton saris by selectively removing the warp, and turned out throws, clothes, even soft furnishings.

Whether the future's perfect or not, Julie is helping to reset the traditional loom for the urban eye, in appreciation of the art of the artisan.