Beyond Paisley, as part of SDA

Sample of scarves:

Close up of stitching from bottom left corner

Beyond Paisley and Peacocks: Handcrafted Textiles of India and its Neighbors is a show now on view at Goldstein Museum of Design on the St. Paul Campus of the University of Minnesota - included as one of the many fibre art exhibits across the Twin Cities for the Surface Design Association's Confluence conference.

Artisans in South Asia use hand techniques for exquisite apparel and home use. After four centuries, Americans still import textiles from India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. This exhibition connects American fashion to textiles produced for local markets. The show is curated by Hazel Lutz and Anna Carlson, from Donald Clay Johnson’s Paritosh Collection of South Asian Textiles.


Two Scarves

Close up of stitching lines

Shawl

Stitching detail showing colourways

Sari, cotton, made in Gujarat, India - unlike western tradition, this wedding garcholu would be worn throughout a woman's married life for special occasions...

Kantha stitch on bed coverings (two separate quilts shown)

Stole, of silk, made in Gujarat, India - this accessory shows the influence of Japanese shibori with the emphasis on texture. Most of the texture imparted by the tie-and-dye process has been left in the cloth rather than ironed out...

Original paisley pattern...

Ari hooked needle embroidery. Ari is a form of chain stitch embroidery made with a hooked needle which is pushed through the cloth catching the thread below. This type of embroidery was imported to France where it acquire the name 'tambour' for the embroidery hoop's resemblance to a drum.

Shawls, made in Punjab, Pakistan - made for local use, these two phulkari or 'flower worked' cloths are embroidered from the back using a counted-thread technique. Silk threads on cotton...

Dupatta, of cotton, made in Gujarat, India - this exemplifies the finest quality work by the nearly mechanical regularity of the tie-and-dye dots, woven gold accents, and careful dipping that create the large blocks of color. It balances minute detail with boldness in the design.