The design world lately is supporting rich and inspired handcrafted creations. In these times with the glut of technology, there is a sort of backlash that moves us to yearn for things real, things with a human touch. In this vein I want to share the work of some artisans.
In the Uttar Pradesh region of India, designer Vijay Khan is helping to preserve the dying art of embroidery and quilting. Part of Khan's intention is to pay artisan women a living wage to keep alive valuable traditions. Below is an embriodered shawl. I had a hard time copying images of the work, but you can view some at Qilasaaz.
You can read more on Vijay collaborating with Tamar Kovner who celebrates the hand-embroidered handkerchief!
I always love discovering new blockprint works. Tobias and Angel are doing some wonderful cloth bags.
It's a dream of mine to study hand blockprinting from a master printer in India....if anyone wants to sponsor me!
I have been wanting to rave about the art of my Flickr friend Scott Waterman for some time now. It's difficult to capsulize the amazing range of this speacial artist, so I will probably post more later. For now you can enjoy some links and images:
Below is a painting that he did for a room in the Villa Feltrinelli in Lago di Garda, Italy.
Below is an example of his modern work, acrylic on paper titled The Richmond, which is the San Francisco neighborhood I grew up in.
You may recognize this shot of one of his interior designs using tobacco* leaves that was in Casa Vogue, among other publications:
*note: Scott corrects me in the comments, they are gunnera leaves.
A folding screen:
A detail of a wall he painted at a home in Bel Air, California:
It really is impossible to try to describe his talent. Take a look at his list of projects on his site.
