Pachanbhai, handwoven with extra weft motifs, natural dyed, 50% cotton-50% tassar silk
Our December laurel is awarded to the Kutchi weaver, Pachanbhai, for a beautiful scarf featuring a finely woven story of climate change.
Pachan Premjibhai Siju comes from a family of weavers in Kutch, Gujarat, India. He lost his father when he was young. He started weaving when young to support the family but then joined a factory for better wages. In the end, the factory environment affected his health, so he returned to weaving. He received design training at Somaiya Kala Vidya.
Judy Frater writes about this weaving:
Soft and light as a cloud, this scarf is beauty with a message. Pachan dyed natural fibers in natural colours, and hand inserted stories. On one end, animals and people need water. On the other, children plant trees and the environment greens.
Pachanbhai at his loom; photo: Judy Frater
Pachanbhai himself writes:
I have been thinking about climate change since I studied at SKV. I wanted clients to also think about it. Today commercial work is often not sustainable. I wanted to create contemporary sustainable work. I natural dyed fine cotton, wool, bamboo, tassar and eri silk yarn, using ikat-dyed wefts to portray cloud and earth texture. I innovated on our traditional extra weft motifs to portray my ideas about climate change. I hand wove each scarf with a different story on either end.
Here is a video of work with his company, Three Threads:
This scarf is part of a collection to be shown at next year’s Santa Fe Folk Art Market.
Follow @bhujodi_three_threads and @judyfrater.
