Shop Around the Block!

An incredible form of art we saw while in Jaipur was block printing. This is where wooden stamps are used to make designs on textiles.

A printed bedcover

Examples of printing

To learn more about this art form, we went to the Anokhi museum which had information on the history and recent uses of block painting. The museum is in an old restored haveli, so it was very big with a lot of rooms. There was also an open air courtyard with a fountain which reminded me of the riads we saw during our time in Morocco.

The outside of the museum

A sign showing pictures of the haveli before and after it’s restoration

When we walked through the museum, we saw the whole process of block printing. First, we saw the carving of the stamps. The stamps are carved into single pieces of wood and can be as simple as a little flower or elaborate like a big peacock.

Drilling into the stamp

Making holes in the stamp

Carving the stamp base

Sanding the stamp

Some stamp designs

An elaborate flower pattern

If the pattern requires more than one colour when printed, then multiple stamps need to be created. For example, if the print is an elephant, there needs to be stamps for:

• The outline of the elephant
• The inside or “fill” of the elephant
• The decorations on the elephant (saddle, head piece, toe nails, etc.)

Four stamps for one design

The multi stamp design

We watched the stamp maker carve little flower stamps, and he gave Zoe and me one each as gifts!

The beginning stages of the flower stamp

The finished little flower

After the stamps are made, they are brought to printers (people who apply the colour to the textile). The printers prepare their ink with natural ingredients, such as the indigo plant for indigo blue. The stamps are placed on the fabric according to the design and pounded to make sure enough colour is applied. This process is repeated until the printing is finished.

Purple and pink dyes

Green dye

However, the stamps aren’t long enough to do an entire border in one go, so the printer has to be very precise and line up the stamp with the previous application. When it comes time to do the corners, old paper is used with the stamp to make the angle. To tell the difference between handmade and machine made prints, look at the border, because if it’s handmade, there will be lines to indicate where the stamp had to be reapplied.

At the museum, a printer taught us how to apply the colour.  It looks so easy until you give it a try. The stamps have to be perfectly lined up or else it won’t work, and if you don’t pound it hard enough, the colour won’t be very bright. After, when the print was finished, Zoe and I got to keep it. A perfect souvenir!

Zoe working on the print

Me printing flower petals

Armed with this knowledge, we went to a textile shop where they make printed bedcovers, tablecloths, pillowcases, and other products. We were shown many beautiful items and found some we really liked.  The selection process reminded me of carpet buying in Turkey where the seller places a few in front of you and asks you to choose your favourites.  We finally settled on four bedcovers for our rooms back at home.

My mom didn’t want to pay the full price, so a round of negotiating began.  I have come to recognize a pattern with all the negotiating I’ve seen.  First, the seller starts with a price, then we give our price (about half of the original price).  Then he lowers his price and we raise ours.  This continues until both the seller and customer meet in the middle, with the seller feeling like they weren’t taken advantage of and the customer feeling like they paid a good price.  Of course, there are different tactics thrown into this as well, like the famous “I have children to feed” or “There is no profit for me”!

The final price still wasn’t low enough, so we walked out.  I’ve learned when you negotiate, you always need to be prepared to walk away.  Then we went to another shop to compare prices and look at their products.  Although their prices were cheaper than the first shop, they were fixed prices, so we couldn’t negotiate. In the end, we decided we liked the bedcovers and the prices at the first shop, so we went back, finalized the price, and shook on it to complete the deal.

For Zoe and I, we chose these amazing bedcovers which are one of a kind. They have different pieces of recycled wedding saris sewn together like a patchwork quilt in the shape of an elephant! Zoe’s even has eyelashes made with a beaded tassel! 🙂

The elephant’s face

Detail on one of the sari pieces

A silk bedcover

A bedcover with a traditional Rajistan design

A printed bedcover

Different coloured bedcovers

A closeup of an elephant

Now we have four bedcovers, which are surprisingly heavy, and 6 more months of travel.  There is no way we are going to carry them around, so we decided to mail them home.    This was our first introduction to the Indian mail service.  In order to be sent home, our package had to be stitched up in a white cloth with the address written on it.

Our package of bedcovers

Wrapping it in white cloth

Stitching up the package

Block printing is an amazing form of art and I’m glad I’ll be able to take a bit of it home with me!