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craftfurnish-blog · 4 years

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Block Prints of Sanganer & Bagru

BUILDING BLOCKS

One of the most colourful and vibrant states of India, Rajasthan is famous for its rich heritage and cultural background. The rich tradition of Rajasthan is attributed to the influence of majestic Rajputana culture and a number of communities here who are involved in performing some exclusive art and craft activities for decades. In this blog, I will talk about one of the most talented communities and its special art form – the Chhipa community and their very famous Hand Block printing.

The art of Hand Block printing started in Sanganer, a town near Jaipur around the 18th century during the reign of Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh. The constant availability of water near the town and the royal patronage helped the hand block printing industry to flourish fast. Initially started as a local craft done on clothing fabrics in the small town of Sanganer, it later spread to other places like Bagru, Ahmedabad and Farukhabad. It was passed down from one generation to the other as one of the foremost fabric printing techniques for both fashion and furnishing industries.

This art of printing requires skilled craftsmen to create a uniform, clear and accurate patterns on the cloth. The design to be printed is first drawn on paper and then transferred to a smoothened wooden block. Then follows the process of the fine carving of the pattern on the block. The block is then soaked in oil so that it gets soft to give a good impression on the fabric when dipped in the dye for final printing. The dyes used in block printing can be either natural or synthetic depending on the requirement. This printing draws its inspiration from nature and mythology where traditional Indian motifs of flowers, fruits, birds, animals and human figures were drawn.

Though Block printing was started in Sanganer, it soon spread to Bagru, a small village near Jaipur. This gave rise to two beautifully different hand block printing styles – Sanganer Block Printing and Bagru Block Printing.

SANGANER BLOCK PRINTING

Sanganer block print is the most famous printing style and is primarily done on an off-white or white coloured fabric with neatly crafted and intricately detailed wooden blocks. The printing is dominated by floral and geometric patterns using both natural and chemical dyes. It is also known as Calico printing. Here, the outlines are first printed, and then the colour is filled in it. The patterns are printed repeatedly in diagonal rows. Today, Calico printed bed covers, quilts, saris, etc. are much in demand.

BAGRU BLOCK PRINTING

This printing technique is generally done on the bluish indigo background using natural colours. Bagru is famous for its Syahi-Begar prints and Dabu prints. In Syahi-Begar prints, designs are in the combination of black and yellow ochre or cream while in Dabu prints, a part of the pattern is hidden from the dye by applying a resist paste. The motifs in the traditional Bagru printing are geometrical patterns combined with flowers, leaves and other life forms.

Hand block printing has always been one of the most admired arts and has successfully survived for ages. Besides having a tremendous demand in the apparel industry for saris, suits, tops, and dresses, it caters to the accessory segment as well where handbags, clutches, and even jewellery pieces have hand block motifs. This technique of block printing is used in both fashion and interior industry wherein products of home décor like bed sheets, bed covers, pillow and cushion covers, table cloths, curtains, etc. are becoming extremely popular.

The tremendous efforts that go into each stage of the block printing process make the art truly worthy of every bit of recognition and appreciation it enjoys all over the world. The Geographical Indication certificate (GI tag) awarded to both Sanganer block print and Bagru Block print in the years 2010 and 2011 respectively have not only recognised the uniqueness and beauty of the art form but has also given a distinct identity to its extremely talented Chhipa community.

HOW TO CARE FOR HAND BLOCK PRINTED FABRICS

These fabrics are delicate and can be machine-washed with a mild detergent in cold water. It is preferable to wash colours separately. Pre-soaking of fabrics should be avoided and they should be dried in shade away from direct sunlight. The block printed fabrics should be ironed on the reverse side of printing.

Indian Handicrafts Online

#block printing #block print #chhipa community #bagru block print #hand block printing #syahi-begar #dabu #sanganer block print

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print-root · 3 years

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#JahotaPrint Printroots Fabrics Printing

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bunastudio · 4 years

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Bagru Block Printing

Our handwoven fabrics are printed by hand with wooden blocks in Bagru, Rajasthan, with a technique called hand block printing. In keeping with the textile traditions of Bagru, we use vegetable and mineral dyes whenever possible.

Our designs are carved by hand into wooden blocks from cross-sections of sisam wood by master carvers in Bagru.

Above: Our polka hand blocks Our distinctive colour palette comes from traditional plant and mineral dystuffs: true indigo, Indigofera tinctoria, for our blues; begar for pinks, reds, and oranges; alum for greys; fermented syahi for black. Some dyes are boosted with a small amount of non-toxic chemical dyes for brighter hues. Source Link: Bagru block printing

#Bagru Block Printing

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rangamaati2015 · 4 years

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Product Insight Item: Tarapur handblock printed premium Muslin Cotton Dupatta. Know Your Art.Know Your Heritage: Tarapur Print is a unique art practiced by craftsmen of Tarapur village. It is a beautiful combination of alizarin hand block printing and Dabu resist hand block printing. First the Fabric is printed with Syahi Begar [Natural Red & Black Color ]and then Dyed with Natural Indigo using Dabu resist for Blue Background. The process of making is very time-consuming. It takes around 12-16 Days to complete the processing of a Single Saree/ Dupatta. A Big thanks to Dr. Pushyamitra and his project #ecofab in helping Project rangamaati getting heritage artwork revived. #blockprinting #blockprint #printmaking #linocut #printmaker #handmade #printmakersofinstagram #linocutprint #reliefprint #linoprint #art #handprinted #blockprinted #lino #handcarved #imprinted https://www.instagram.com/p/CFOkE3Ypx1M/?igshid=tifmxunsbcso

#ecofab #blockprinting #blockprint #printmaking #linocut #printmaker #handmade #printmakersofinstagram #linocutprint #reliefprint #linoprint #art #handprinted #blockprinted #lino #handcarved #imprinted

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theoldisnewagain · 7 years

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My (new) husband and I went to India, for our honeymoon. We flew into Delhi, took a night train to Pushar, and then another train to Udaipur. India stole our hearts, we decided to extend the holiday by an extra few days, to go to Jaipur. Secretly, I wanted to got there because of its renowned block printing. Thank goodness I married an incredible man who knows me well enough and was happy to tour the block printing community of Bagru with me.

Bagru is located 30km west of Jaipur, and has a long tradition of hand block printing because of its original proximity to the Sanjaria River. Bagru thrieved as a marketplace, making ghaggras skirts, dupattas head scarves, and angochhas, men scarves. The print indicated the wearers specific community, and marital status.

It was a joy to witness a community of craft people who work together, as families and friends, to create hand carved, hand block printed, hand-dyed and washed, gorgeous lengths of textiles.

As soon as we arrived we were humbled by the simplicity of everything. The many coloured, patterned, and mud resist panels lay stretched on the dusty yard, the concrete wash basins are worn with no hard edges, and although the area was not actively in use, you could see where each stage of washing and dyeing took place.

white cloth waiting to be dyed

the mordent – Harda

how the washed cloth gets transported to the yard

washing bath

drying rod

indigo vat or math

coldron where fabric is boild

aged and dated syahi

printing paste made from rusty scaps of iron

ferments with molasses and water for 15 days, then boilded with tamarind powder

The nature dyes

syahi – natural black, made from scrap iron (pictured above). During the printing process, the brown liquor quickly turns into a rich black. The rangraz (washer) submerges the cloth into near-boiling bath of alizarin dye to fix the black.

begar- In 1869, chemist developed a synthetic version of natural alzarin, a red dye that occurs in the madder plant rubia cordifolia, locally known as majeet. As with syahi, you need to wash in harda which is the mordent.

indigo – In 1897, a chemical synthetic indigo was developed, which was less expensive and easier to use, being more consistent with uniform of colour. Because indigo is a vat dye, you do not have to pre-treat the fabric with a mordant.

Indigo Dyed – actual screen prints, not block

folding the lengths

deep indigo, dipped more than twice

begar dyed

haddar – natural yellow

indigo and syahi

bagar and syahi

The block carvers belong to a small community whose numbers are dwindling due to new technology. The blocks are typically made from seasoned shisham Indian rosewood, which you can see drying in the back of this shop. The cross-section of the trunk must be free from any knots or imperfections. The blocks are planned and sanded and chalked with a white paste, which the carver traces a design onto. Block can take up 6 days to complete, with some designs needing up to 6 blocks.

The resist printing with mud technique is called dabu. The chihippa gently flighs off the extra mud from the block and continuously stamps the resist area, then sprinkles sawdust over the wet paste to prevent it from smudging. The cloth is dried in the sun, and then dyed in indigo or otherwise. The resist is then boiled off revealing the white or layer which was underneath.

printing with mud

mud resist workshop

little girl in the background

folding the lengths

Most communities in the area have a table or two in their home from which they print 100-200 meters daily. I was really surprised by this number, as it’s no cottage industry, in fact this is quite a large production of hand-printed textiles.

We walked past a home with scarves hanging over the balcony. I automatically loved them, the size, the different patterns, and colours, different from what I had seen. We are invited inside to see them at work, at of course, I purchased a few.

the lengths waiting to be printed

women beautifully printing

so gorgeous

Back at Studio Bagru, Ben and I chose our blocks and colours and began out printing workshop.

I decided to print using different stages, the border had 4.

gudh – yellow // background block

rekh – blue // outline block

& 4 datta- pink green // filler block

Matching up the blocks took so much skill and attention, especially as fabric is not fixed like paper, it stretches and curves. Matching up the corners you simply use newspaper to cover the angle on both sides, match up where the last block began, and continue to go around. The print in the middle was the same. I began to measure the block, to see how many times it could repeat in the rectangle. My teacher simply wobbled her head side to side, as the Indians do, and put down the newspaper covering the edge of the border, allowing the pattern to extend to the very edge.

My fisnished scarf

Thank you to Jeremy at Studio Bagru for showing a glance of this amazing traditional textile village. We were completely overwhelmed by the skills and hard work, knowledge, and history of these amazing people. It is thanks to people who work in fair trade/slow fashion industries which are keeping these incredible skills alive.

Block Printing in Bagru, India My (new) husband and I went to India, for our honeymoon. We flew into Delhi, took a night train to Pushar, and then another train to Udaipur.

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rangamaati2015 · 4 years

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ART INFO: Know Your Art.Know Your Heritage: Tarapur Print is a unique art practiced by craftsmen of Tarapur village. It is a beautiful combination of alizarin hand block printing and Dabu resist hand block printing. First the Fabric is printed with Syahi Begar [Natural Red & Black Color ]and then Dyed with Natural Indigo using Dabu resist for Blue Background. The process of making is very time-consuming. It takes around 12-16 Days to complete the processing of a Single Saree. #blockprinting #blockprint #printmaking #linocut #printmaker #handmade #printmakersofinstagram #linocutprint #reliefprint #linoprint #art #handprinted #blockprinted #lino #handcarved #imprinted #get #print #cotton #jaipur #sustainablefashion #linogravure #linoprinting #reliefprinting #handcrafted #onlineshopping #handblockprint #linocutting #handcarvedstamp #blockprints https://www.instagram.com/p/CFJgKklpWD2/?igshid=1js2s9r8lok7v

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