CLOTH IS A CANVAS
From elegant home furnishings to beautiful textile wall art and wondrous large-scale immersive textile installations, cloth is a canvas full of possibilities for textile designer and artist Jayshree Poddar, Design Director, at Himatsingka Seide Limited, Bangalore, Karnataka state, India.
A regular contributor to Selvedge Magazine, Brinda Gill, interviews Jayshree Poddar, Design Director, at Himatsingka Seide.
Brinda Gill. How/when were you drawn to textiles?
Jayshree Poddar: I was initially keen to be a potter. However, interesting conversations in the early 1970s with my brother-in-law Dinesh Himatsingka -about textiles handwoven by weavers in villages in the state of Bihar that he was involved with at the time, and his dream of setting up a mill for furnishing fabrics – led me to the field of textiles. Being interested in aesthetics since childhood, beautiful and artistic textiles also appealed to me. I went on to do a diploma in Textile Design at the National Institute of Design in 1980.
Image: Jayshree Poddar. Photo courtesy of Syed Zubair.
Dinesh founded Himatsingka Seide Limited, a state-of-the-art mill to produce exclusive furnishings, in 1986 on the outskirts of Bangalore, and I joined them as their Design Director. Though I graduated from a premiere design institute, my actual learning happened on the shop floor. I have also done several exhibitions- of “Textiles as Art”- as a personal expression.
BG. Please could tell us the scope of production at the Himatsingka Seide Limited mill
JP. The mill produces one-of-a-kind home furnishings woven on mechanized jacquard looms for clients in Europe and U.S.A. and also for the domestic market through our brand Atmosphere. The focus has been on decorative fabrics for domestic and commercial interiors. There is also a small line for fashion and bridal wear.
Production at the mill integrates the entire process of turning yarn -that is the basic unit of cloth- into fabric using involved processes such as twisting, dyeing, warping, weaving and finishing. Fabrics are woven with natural fibre yarns such as silk, cotton, wool and linen; synthetic fibres like nylon, polyester and viscose; and blends. Other than regular jacquards and dobbies, the mill also designs and produces velvets and embroideries. The minimum length for orders is 120 meters. We typically weave 2000 to 4000 meters / day, only on orders from clients.
Image: Autumn Leaf, 100% silk. Photo courtesy of Pallon Daruwala.
BG. What does your role as Design Director entail?
JP. My work at the mill involves interacting with clients to understand their requirements and discussing design possibilities; visualizing new products with a select team of designers, considering technical aspects of production; and seeing the products to the final stage. Over the past thirty years, I have designed scores of fabrics that decode the nuances of pattern, weave and colour.
BG. Which attributes do you feel give textiles their identity
JP. The identity of commercial power loom fabrics as drapery or upholstery comes from unusual and exceptional designs as well as very good quality (with minimum faults) and good delivery times. I keep in mind that furnishing cloth- in its many applications such as drapes for windows to regular light and offer privacy as well as use as upholstery on furniture- is to become a continuation of the sense of coherence and linearity that architecture provides. The identity of art textiles, in the context of my work, however, derives from imaginary explorations of various subjects such as the moon, Indian Gods such as Hanuman and Krishna, and other subjects.
Image: Tree Mirror, black organzine silk. Photo courtesy of Pallon Daruwala.
BG. How do you regard the role of a designer in a power loom context?
JP. As they say- looms do not know what to weave! This is true of hand-weaving as well as modern power-looms. Both sides of the brain have to be employed to marry surface design to technology. The production of fabrics, woven at a mill, owe their designs, textures, colours and aesthetics to the design and production team, to their skill of applying design to technology. While the number of materials one works with is limited, given the exemplary production tools and machinery at the Himatsingka Seide Limited mill, the knowledgeable and experienced design team has delivered textiles that are exceptional and relevant.
BG. Please could you share your source(s) of inspiration
JP. The sources of inspiration are manifold- nature, geometry, philosophy, traditional art and life around me. I see stories in things around me! Yet, sometimes the absence of stimuli allows a gentle entry into the realm of the inner world. I try to bring the essence of the visual world to cloth by employing philosophical ideas using form, colour and texture. And sometimes extracting that which is already present within the construction of fabrics…. much like a sculptor chisels away stone to release a statue that is already implied within the medium.
Image: Woven Large Hanuman, black organzine silk. Photo courtesy of Pallon Daruwala.
BG. How do you translate an idea into a woven motif/design?
JP. We create new and artistic motifs and designs while keeping the requests of the client as well as the technical parameters of yarn and loom in mind. Yet, designs are created with spontaneity and clarity. Warps and wefts of different kinds - material type, thickness, density and colour, ranging from fine organza silk to heavy cottons and nylons provide the designer a wonderful palette to play with.
For example, in the gardens of the mill, leaves in free fall led to our collecting dry and fresh leaves, being inspired by their form, structure, colours and beauty, and going on to design and weave the fabric “Autumn Leaves”, of leaves as if in free fall, with the appropriate placement of dimensional leaves, using colour with intelligence. Similarly, we designed the fabric “Peepul Leaf” in which the natural crimp of tussar silk yarn allows the silky leaves to dimensionalise and hence also bring about a play of light reflectivity.
Image: Godhooli 2 Panels. Photo courtesy of Justin Jacob.
BG. How do motifs and patterns get an identity of their own?
JP. Motifs and patterns get a persona through their own presence. Contrast is created through colour and material differentiation of fibres in varying thicknesses, colour and texture. For instance, “Aura” inspired by prayer from the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, an ancient Indian text, is woven with very fine yarns of organza silk in the warp and multiple wefts ranging from thick black linen to silk of varying thickness and colour. Spanning the height of a window, the fabric moves from a textured opaque black at the bottom of the hanging drape and gently transitions into lucent transparency of a non-textured surface in pure white. The design alludes to a transition from heaviness to the lightness of being, from the earth to the skies.
BG. How do you create fabrics for your large textile art installations?
JP. The idea comes first! After the concept settles down in the mind and heart, the mechanisms of weaving take over with the help of the technical team at the mill. Usually the spaces for the installations are decided beforehand. Trials are made using various warps and wefts; we zero in on one; and entire lengths are created. With the passage of time, since the looms are capable of very large lengths, I have employed "scale" for many installations.
The work of a textile artist is based on dissolving and reconstituting, on constructing, deconstructing and creating. For my textile works I explore various aspects of woven cloth, I fold, pleat, crumple, and cut into cloth. Cloth is delicate and one has to employ weave structures that will give it a certain look and feel to express an idea with conviction. Cloth offers immense possibilities to create art works from miniature to large immersive installations, from sheers to double-cloths.
Image: Milch Cows. Photo courtesy of Justin Jacob.
BG. Please tell us about the “Many Moons” exhibition regarded as extraordinary for its immersive sculptural fabric installations.
JP. The “Many Moons” exhibition in Ahmedabad and Bangalore was inspired by and anchored in the moon: its beauty, its luminosity, and its different phases. It was planned as a multi-sensory sculptural experience. In the Bangalore exhibition, the main installation was a fabric 27 meters in length and of 54 inches width, woven with polyester, silk and metallic yarns. It had a black ground with silver moons waxing and waning in many layers.
To create the work, I drew on my understanding of double cloth where a fabric is split into two layers or more. The single-layer depicted the first full moon, which then split into two layers and depicted the changing crescent of the moon, and then split into four layers to show the new full moon. In this way, the complete cycle of the moon was woven through the full length of the loom and was suspended from the ceiling of the gallery. In the suspended fabric there was movement across the gallery space and there seems to be space within the cloth and the cloth seems to move in space.
In another installation titled “Jyotsna”, to create a multi-sensorial experience there was music for listening, jasmine flowers for their fragrance and cloth for touching as one moved into –and momentarily became a part of - the installation. The Ahmedabad show had about thirty, three-metre panels of woven and embroidered moons.
Image: Hide and Seek. Photo courtesy of Harsh Bhavsar.
BG. Is it possible for you to take the “Many Moons” show to other cities in India or abroad if invited?
JP. Yes, it is possible.
BG. Of the textiles you have designed over the past 30 years, which are closest to you?
JP. Autumn Leaves was special as it emerged from my deep connection to nature and was also commercially successful. The fabrics for the “Many Moons” textile installations are special for their sheer scale and luminosity.
Of the body of textiles I have designed and created, the fabrics woven for the Sri Aurobindo Ashram in Pondicherry are closest to me. They were woven for special days that correspond to momentous occasions associated with Sri Aurobindo and the Mother. The Ashram regards flowers as seminal, and flowers –the lotus, Ipomoea carnea, Hibiscus mutabilis and bougainvillaea -were used as inspiration for fabrics for the master bed, chairs and drapery. The approach taken to develop the floral forms was to try and interpret the luminosity, lightness and purity of the flowers. Light in weight, the fabrics had a definite spiritual vibe to them. To be given the opportunity to create the textiles for the ashram was a rare honour.
Image: Night Traveller Close Up. Photo courtesy of Harsh Bhavsar.
Text courtesy of Brinda Gill
@poddarjayshree
www.himatsingka.com
A regular contributor to Selvedge Magazine, Brinda Gill, interviews Jayshree Poddar, Design Director, at Himatsingka Seide.
Brinda Gill. How/when were you drawn to textiles?
Jayshree Poddar: I was initially keen to be a potter. However, interesting conversations in the early 1970s with my brother-in-law Dinesh Himatsingka -about textiles handwoven by weavers in villages in the state of Bihar that he was involved with at the time, and his dream of setting up a mill for furnishing fabrics – led me to the field of textiles. Being interested in aesthetics since childhood, beautiful and artistic textiles also appealed to me. I went on to do a diploma in Textile Design at the National Institute of Design in 1980.
Image: Jayshree Poddar. Photo courtesy of Syed Zubair.
Dinesh founded Himatsingka Seide Limited, a state-of-the-art mill to produce exclusive furnishings, in 1986 on the outskirts of Bangalore, and I joined them as their Design Director. Though I graduated from a premiere design institute, my actual learning happened on the shop floor. I have also done several exhibitions- of “Textiles as Art”- as a personal expression.
BG. Please could tell us the scope of production at the Himatsingka Seide Limited mill
JP. The mill produces one-of-a-kind home furnishings woven on mechanized jacquard looms for clients in Europe and U.S.A. and also for the domestic market through our brand Atmosphere. The focus has been on decorative fabrics for domestic and commercial interiors. There is also a small line for fashion and bridal wear.
Production at the mill integrates the entire process of turning yarn -that is the basic unit of cloth- into fabric using involved processes such as twisting, dyeing, warping, weaving and finishing. Fabrics are woven with natural fibre yarns such as silk, cotton, wool and linen; synthetic fibres like nylon, polyester and viscose; and blends. Other than regular jacquards and dobbies, the mill also designs and produces velvets and embroideries. The minimum length for orders is 120 meters. We typically weave 2000 to 4000 meters / day, only on orders from clients.
Image: Autumn Leaf, 100% silk. Photo courtesy of Pallon Daruwala.
BG. What does your role as Design Director entail?
JP. My work at the mill involves interacting with clients to understand their requirements and discussing design possibilities; visualizing new products with a select team of designers, considering technical aspects of production; and seeing the products to the final stage. Over the past thirty years, I have designed scores of fabrics that decode the nuances of pattern, weave and colour.
BG. Which attributes do you feel give textiles their identity
JP. The identity of commercial power loom fabrics as drapery or upholstery comes from unusual and exceptional designs as well as very good quality (with minimum faults) and good delivery times. I keep in mind that furnishing cloth- in its many applications such as drapes for windows to regular light and offer privacy as well as use as upholstery on furniture- is to become a continuation of the sense of coherence and linearity that architecture provides. The identity of art textiles, in the context of my work, however, derives from imaginary explorations of various subjects such as the moon, Indian Gods such as Hanuman and Krishna, and other subjects.
Image: Tree Mirror, black organzine silk. Photo courtesy of Pallon Daruwala.
BG. How do you regard the role of a designer in a power loom context?
JP. As they say- looms do not know what to weave! This is true of hand-weaving as well as modern power-looms. Both sides of the brain have to be employed to marry surface design to technology. The production of fabrics, woven at a mill, owe their designs, textures, colours and aesthetics to the design and production team, to their skill of applying design to technology. While the number of materials one works with is limited, given the exemplary production tools and machinery at the Himatsingka Seide Limited mill, the knowledgeable and experienced design team has delivered textiles that are exceptional and relevant.
BG. Please could you share your source(s) of inspiration
JP. The sources of inspiration are manifold- nature, geometry, philosophy, traditional art and life around me. I see stories in things around me! Yet, sometimes the absence of stimuli allows a gentle entry into the realm of the inner world. I try to bring the essence of the visual world to cloth by employing philosophical ideas using form, colour and texture. And sometimes extracting that which is already present within the construction of fabrics…. much like a sculptor chisels away stone to release a statue that is already implied within the medium.
Image: Woven Large Hanuman, black organzine silk. Photo courtesy of Pallon Daruwala.
BG. How do you translate an idea into a woven motif/design?
JP. We create new and artistic motifs and designs while keeping the requests of the client as well as the technical parameters of yarn and loom in mind. Yet, designs are created with spontaneity and clarity. Warps and wefts of different kinds - material type, thickness, density and colour, ranging from fine organza silk to heavy cottons and nylons provide the designer a wonderful palette to play with.
For example, in the gardens of the mill, leaves in free fall led to our collecting dry and fresh leaves, being inspired by their form, structure, colours and beauty, and going on to design and weave the fabric “Autumn Leaves”, of leaves as if in free fall, with the appropriate placement of dimensional leaves, using colour with intelligence. Similarly, we designed the fabric “Peepul Leaf” in which the natural crimp of tussar silk yarn allows the silky leaves to dimensionalise and hence also bring about a play of light reflectivity.
Image: Godhooli 2 Panels. Photo courtesy of Justin Jacob.
BG. How do motifs and patterns get an identity of their own?
JP. Motifs and patterns get a persona through their own presence. Contrast is created through colour and material differentiation of fibres in varying thicknesses, colour and texture. For instance, “Aura” inspired by prayer from the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, an ancient Indian text, is woven with very fine yarns of organza silk in the warp and multiple wefts ranging from thick black linen to silk of varying thickness and colour. Spanning the height of a window, the fabric moves from a textured opaque black at the bottom of the hanging drape and gently transitions into lucent transparency of a non-textured surface in pure white. The design alludes to a transition from heaviness to the lightness of being, from the earth to the skies.
BG. How do you create fabrics for your large textile art installations?
JP. The idea comes first! After the concept settles down in the mind and heart, the mechanisms of weaving take over with the help of the technical team at the mill. Usually the spaces for the installations are decided beforehand. Trials are made using various warps and wefts; we zero in on one; and entire lengths are created. With the passage of time, since the looms are capable of very large lengths, I have employed "scale" for many installations.
The work of a textile artist is based on dissolving and reconstituting, on constructing, deconstructing and creating. For my textile works I explore various aspects of woven cloth, I fold, pleat, crumple, and cut into cloth. Cloth is delicate and one has to employ weave structures that will give it a certain look and feel to express an idea with conviction. Cloth offers immense possibilities to create art works from miniature to large immersive installations, from sheers to double-cloths.
Image: Milch Cows. Photo courtesy of Justin Jacob.
BG. Please tell us about the “Many Moons” exhibition regarded as extraordinary for its immersive sculptural fabric installations.
JP. The “Many Moons” exhibition in Ahmedabad and Bangalore was inspired by and anchored in the moon: its beauty, its luminosity, and its different phases. It was planned as a multi-sensory sculptural experience. In the Bangalore exhibition, the main installation was a fabric 27 meters in length and of 54 inches width, woven with polyester, silk and metallic yarns. It had a black ground with silver moons waxing and waning in many layers.
To create the work, I drew on my understanding of double cloth where a fabric is split into two layers or more. The single-layer depicted the first full moon, which then split into two layers and depicted the changing crescent of the moon, and then split into four layers to show the new full moon. In this way, the complete cycle of the moon was woven through the full length of the loom and was suspended from the ceiling of the gallery. In the suspended fabric there was movement across the gallery space and there seems to be space within the cloth and the cloth seems to move in space.
In another installation titled “Jyotsna”, to create a multi-sensorial experience there was music for listening, jasmine flowers for their fragrance and cloth for touching as one moved into –and momentarily became a part of - the installation. The Ahmedabad show had about thirty, three-metre panels of woven and embroidered moons.
Image: Hide and Seek. Photo courtesy of Harsh Bhavsar.
BG. Is it possible for you to take the “Many Moons” show to other cities in India or abroad if invited?
JP. Yes, it is possible.
BG. Of the textiles you have designed over the past 30 years, which are closest to you?
JP. Autumn Leaves was special as it emerged from my deep connection to nature and was also commercially successful. The fabrics for the “Many Moons” textile installations are special for their sheer scale and luminosity.
Of the body of textiles I have designed and created, the fabrics woven for the Sri Aurobindo Ashram in Pondicherry are closest to me. They were woven for special days that correspond to momentous occasions associated with Sri Aurobindo and the Mother. The Ashram regards flowers as seminal, and flowers –the lotus, Ipomoea carnea, Hibiscus mutabilis and bougainvillaea -were used as inspiration for fabrics for the master bed, chairs and drapery. The approach taken to develop the floral forms was to try and interpret the luminosity, lightness and purity of the flowers. Light in weight, the fabrics had a definite spiritual vibe to them. To be given the opportunity to create the textiles for the ashram was a rare honour.
Image: Night Traveller Close Up. Photo courtesy of Harsh Bhavsar.
Text courtesy of Brinda Gill
@poddarjayshree
www.himatsingka.com