Silpinwita is an award winning textile artist and designer from Kolkata, West Bengal, India. Her clothing line Haridra features her designs using natural pigments on handspun, handwoven cotton and silks. Each one of her pieces is a work of art on its own.
Traditionally these intricate skills are passed down through generations in India, a country that is long known for its textile prints and dyeing. It takes an incredible wealth of knowledge to create with such craftsmanship, and Silpinwita adds her own touch to her ancestral knowledge. In 2016 she won the UNESCO-WCC Award of Excellence for her work.
Read on to hear more about her inspirations, all of the lovely plants she saves to use as dye, and the very poetic surroundings she does her work in.
You can also follow Silpinwita along on instagram here.
What is your favourite thing about your work?
The color palette. Natural dyes are soothing and meditative. I am an artist. I paint with natural colors that do not come in ready to use handy tubes… you have to prepare your own color prior to painting or dyeing.
Flowers, fruits, barks, leaves are the main sources of the colours I use. Various kinds of metallic salts are used traditionally to fix the colours to the fabric. They are called mordants. And different mordants provides different color shades for a certain dye source.
My label ‘HARIDRA’ in Sanskrit means yellow, one of the basic and primary colors of the color spectrum. Yellow is the color of sunlight and commonly associated with warmth and spirituality.
‘HARIDRA’ stoles and dresses are wearable art. They are entirely hand drawn with natural colour and each one of them is unique and distinct in terms of design and concept. The fabrics are weaved in the handlooms of Bengal.
Can you tell us a bit about the team behind the pieces you create?
My family is involved in the making process. My parents and my brother are my big support system. Apart from them, there are nearly 15 people working with us. Most of them are women and they belong to needy families. I make the layouts for each pieces and they follow them while painting. My father mainly does the dyeing part. As we don’t make a huge production, we count on the quality not the quantity.
Can you share with us about some of the plants you use to dye fabric?
We mainly use Madder root and Catechu for reds and browns; pomegranate peels, myrobalan fruit, turmeric, Marigold flower, Flame of the Forest flower, night flowering Jasmine and onion skin provides the yellow; Indigo is used for the blue, and Fermented Iron solution is used for black. The permutation and combination of the colour sources creates various ranges and shades of colours as well.
What inspires you the most?
Nature inspires me the most. I studied fine art in Kalabhavana, Santiniketan with classes being held in the open air. It’s a land of red soil and lush greenery, and mud paths lined with row of Shal and palm trees. When Alstonia and Flame of the Forest flowers bloom, and the first breeze passes through the paddy field; the dawn awakes the lazy dew – it brings a mysterious form of celestial beauty to the mundane surroundings.
Visva-bharati campus area is surrounded by lots of sculptures and murals done by the artists like Ramkinkar Baij, Binodebihari Mukerjee, K.G. Subramanyam and so on. Their works and their views toward art and crafts inspired me. Gradually I came to know about the folk art and the artisans living nearby villages; their life and work helped me to grow and develop more profoundly.
Although from the very beginning, my father Mr. Ajit kumar Das, introduced natural colors in my mind and consciousness, I have seen him preparing his own color for dyeing the fabric. He is a Kalamkari artist as well. But, for me, it is Santiniketan which always inspired me to cherish and celebrate the sustainable way of living.
Is there days you don’t feel as inspired to create, and if so, what do you do to get yourself in the mood for it?
I think gardening keeps me alive everyday. Yes, there are days when you can’t focus, and those days my gardener self can solace me and that elevates me as a human being.
I watch good cinema, read books, listen to music. I love to interact with people who can help shape my inner self.
Is there any other artistic mediums you explore, or would like to?
I am a printmaker as well. And also I have a keen interest in ceramics. I want to practice it someday. Let’s see!
Is there any social causes that are important to you that you would like to share?
I think people are going through a tough phase in the post covid situation and massive layoffs due to the ongoing economic conditions all over the world. Now it’s our responsibility to support each other to overcome the crisis. Together we can welcome the brighter future for sure!
