The British Museum and another inspiration

The British Museum always seems to deliver! So many times I have visited the Museum because it was near the reason for the visit. Last time I was enchanted by the Barkcloth from Tonga which influenced my mark making and the way I interpreted my drawings. The Masters unit had taken me into a different direction but this visit fitted so well with the direction I have been going it was just amazing how yet again I feel that there must be some connectivity out there!

BARKCLOTH DISPLAY 

 This week it was the SDC World of Colour event and with a morning to spare a visit to BM seemed a good idea! One of the exhibitions was a large piece of woven silk from Assam :

The textile is associated with the cult of the Hindu god Krishna. It is today made up of 12 strips of woven silk, each one being figured with depictions of the incarnations of Vishnu and with captioned scenes from the life of Krishna.

Once again I was attracted to the imagery and interpretation of the environment and spent sometime sketching the details which always helps me to understand the repeat and the orientation of one image to another. I was also reflecting on the drawings etc I have been making from the ploughed field

DETAIL OF ONE OF THE STRIPS

The use of woven text was also interesting and an idea I have considered including in my practice as my skills include calligraphy.

But it is the raison d'etre that really made me reflect on my work. The Vrindavini Vastra is the story of Krishna's travels and has a narrative.
The Ploughed field is also developing into a narrative and with the personal additions of rusted parts used by my grandfather it is an exciting prospect


                           THE VRINDAVINI VASTRA