Still in Print - From Ajrakh to Kalamkari

Journey through four different block printing communities in India using natural dyes: Ajrakh, Kalamkari, Dabu and Bagh. The skill and mastery of these artisans carries tradition forward, continuing to give life to these complex techniques that have been passed down for up to 9 generations. This lecture and film was given by Tim McLaughlin and Charllotte Kwon for the Royal Ontario Museums’s exhibition in 2022 - “The Cloth that Changed the World”. The exhibition traveled to the St Louis Art Museum in 2023. In 2025 the exhibit will move to the Royal BC Museum. This exhibition features the work of the Khatri family of Damadkha. Early 2026 it will move to the Bowers Museum Santa Ana, California. 💌 Sign up to receive beautiful emails that celebrate artisan work, slow clothes and natural dyes - https://mailchi.mp/maiwa/subscribe 🍿 WATCH NEXT: Slow Clothes in India -    • Slow Clothes in India   The Poetics of Textiles -    • The Poetics of Textiles   ONLINE WORKSHOPS: https://maiwa.teachable.com/ MORE PLACES TO FIND US: 🌞Our website & shop - https://maiwa.com/ 💃🏽Maiwa’s Slow Clothes - https://maiwa.com/collections/all-clo... 🌿Natural Dye & Textile Workshops - https://maiwa.teachable.com/ 🧶Natural Dye Tips & Recipes - https://naturaldyes.ca/ 📸 Instagram: Maiwa -   / maiwahandprints   Maiwa School of Textiles -   / maiwaschooloftextiles   Maiwa Natural Dyes -   / maiwa_naturaldyes   WHO ARE WE? We are natural dyers, textile lovers, travellers, teachers & designers 🌿 A family business for over 35 years: Natural Dyes, Slow Clothes, Artisan Goods, Organic Bedding, Handwoven Textiles, Online Natural Dye Workshops, and more… ⌚️Timestamps: 00:00 - Intro 00:23 - Chintz & Calico 01:51 - Ajrakh block printing - Ismail Khatri 03:52 - Jabbar Khatri 05:08 - Dabu block printing - Mahesh Dosaya 07:21 - Bagh block printing 08:49 - Kalamkari - Pen work & block printing 10:15 - Mukkanti Eswarudu 11:33 - The natural colours of India’s painted & printed cotton 15:30 - Tannin & iron to achieve natural black 15:51 - Alum (potassium aluminum sulphate) 16:31 - Transforming the fibres of the textile 17:03 - Tannins - Myrobalan 18:01 - The tannins & iron reaction 18:24 - Ajit Das 19:38 - Painting & printing with red - madder root & alum 21:13 - Madder Red 21:58 - Indigo - Adam Khatri 23:46 - Resists to maintain the white colour 24:19 - Pattern created by resists & mordants 25:20 - Subtleties controlled by the artisan 26:13 - Thoughts on contemporary artisans 27:10 - Process of block carving 27:54 - Ajrakh 28:23 - Bagh 30:14 - Dabu 31:12 - Kalamkari 33:28 - Ajrakh