Motifs In Kashmiri Embroidery

The Woodlands Man Shirt is a garment made by the Native Americans from the great lakes region in the 18th century. This piece was traded to early French explorers in New France which extended from Louisiana to Canada. This shirt was worn by high status Native Americans made from antelope which has some form of early tattoo work done to it. The interlocking designed tattoos represent the sacred Thunderbird who is an important traditional being to Indian spirituality. Some principles of design used in this piece are rhythm and symmetrical balance and some elements of design to note are shape, visual and actual texture, and pattern. I chose these principles to analysis this piece because they are the ones that apply the most to this sculpture and can help to apply context. This also shirt has elements from Woodlands, Great Lakes, and Plains regions, and the complex designs may have been inspired by tattooing. The materials used in this shirt are both functional and ceremonial to the Native Americans but more specifically the Dakota tribe. This shirt is unique because it is only one of 35 remaining from the early 1700s making this piece really rare and hard to compare to because of how few there are available.

In comparing The Tibetan Mandala and the Navajo Sand painting the sand drawings are from different cultures, yet their purpose is the same. A better understanding and appreciation comes with looking at these works.

Ringgold's story-quilting system is critical to the importance of her work. She makes the focal picture utilizing “acrylic paint on canvas, mirroring her insight into western art history in both style and topic, and encompasses it with an interwoven fabric that incorporates her handwritten messages” (Kuan, para., 2). She at that point utilizes traditional knitting strategies to sandwich a layer of batting by sewing the beautifying front to the plain cotton backing.

The first art piece consists of a beautiful curtain fragment of coptic textile from the late Roman and early Byzantine 4th century. Woven textiles were commonly incorporated in Byzantine clothing tapestries, furniture coverings and curtains. The most expensive textiles were made of silk. Inexpensive textiles like the curtain fragment were made of linen and wool. Although dyed textiles were rare, they were colored with plant based dyes like saffron or minerals (Carrol, pg.57). The majority of textiles were created by the horizontal two-beam loom later to be replaced by the vertical loom and domed spindle whorl.

Bethan Gray is an award winning Welsh designer that has an unusual but impressive family origin. Her ancestors originate from an ancient Rajasthani clan that spent many hundreds of years journeying across Arabia and Persia before choosing to remain in the Celtic region of Wales. This very heritage wove its way into being some of Bethan Grays’s main influences and inspirations, which pull ideas shown within craft traditions of both the East and West. These influences are reflected in Gray’s style, showing a clear passion of detail, tactile textures, and extravagant materials such as rare stones, wood, marble and hand-tooled leather. Complex but complementary patterns of dark and light, texture and clear attention shown to the detail that defines her highly unique style. Even while using blacks and whites, Gray is also not afraid

Prior to researching about the Navajo Native American art forms, I was unaware of all the various forms of art seen in their culture. Most people think of the paintings and drawings when they think of art, but there are other forms of art and ways to be expressive without painting and drawing. Upon researching this fascinating culture, I learned so much more about their lives and the forms of art that they create. Throughout this paper I will be talking about the different art forms the Navajo culture possesses. The Navajo art forms consist of jewelry, blankets, rugs, pottery and baskets.

Both of these two products reflect the cultural and traditional values, symbols and meanings in the life of an Indian woman. It is traditionally worn by their ancestors from 5,000 years ago. A designer saree is known as a long female garment, which comes with a size of “six to nine yards in length,” an unstitched cloth that draped in a set design. Indian women wear saree with a matching blouse that covers the upper portion of the body and wears a color matching petticoat that ties on the wrist which enables to hold the pleats. Each designer saree has a design theme that conveys a unique story. Meanwhile, the churidar suits come with a set of three pieces of material which is “kameez, salwar, and dupatta.” A long dress that covers the upper portion of the body is known as kameez that covers until the knee, a salwar tapers at the ankle that comes as a loose or tight pants that wore tightly at the wrist. A dupatta is a long stylish ornament worn on the shoulders or to cover the head while visiting the elders or the temple.

Navajos were known for this type of art. Women used to spend hours weaving threads to create different types of blanket. Navajos had a great balance when they created these type of rugs and blankets. For example, they used the geometry in a very masculine way and they balanced by a female complexity. Navajos often used in their creation deep and rich colors for it to have the perfect balance of joy.

Nicole utilizes a variety of themes and materials in her artworks. Her mandalas come to life on rough hemp canvases where the color gets absorbed by the thirsty texture. As the fibers need to be fed again and again, the mandala motifs arise shyly to the surface. The traditional method of making mandalas through the patient and repetitive movement of the hand dropping sand on a surface is mirrored in Nicole’s approach to constructing her mandalas, with an evident connection to meditation.

When one thinks of comfort, safety and fashion, they immediately think of sweaters. For hundreds of years, people wore these beautiful knitted works of art, so that they may protect themselves from the harshness of winter, but also to look good while doing so. Here at the National Institute of Sweaters, which serves as both an art and history museum, we want to preserve the history of the garment, while also examining the implementation of new styles within the sweater community, and showcase the true aesthetics of the “ugly sweater.” To do so, we allowed ourselves the mission to “collect, study, conserve, and present significant works of knitted artwork across all times and cultures in order to connect people to comfort, warmth, and fashion.”

Traditional quilts are very delicate and some contain around 200,000 hand stitches. Humidity, heat, salt air and insects can easily affect quilts. Many traditional quilts never survived and it is important to save the ones that are still available. Hawaiians believe that the quilts contain a lot of Mana (power or spirit).

I first became attracted to Yayoi Kusama’s work when I came upon a 1966 photograph of Kusama modeling on her own installation with painted dots covering her body. The photograph communicated what seemed to be a special message that fascinated me; I was curious about what symbolism the polka dots express and what connotations Kusama was intending to reveal by painting repetitive tessellations. I was instantly drawn to the manner in which Kusama dresses in the fashion of her own endless imagination; it seemed that Kusama’s body and art have merged into one creative entity, softening the variance between the artist and the art piece. In short, the photograph inspired me in discovering Kusuma’s history, analyzing her art pieces, and contemplating my

Here you can see a woman spinning wool into thread. On this cup you can see a woman spinning. Here you can see a wool basket, a kalathos, containing wool that has been made ready for spinning. Spinning and weaving were thought of as women's jobs and they made all the bedding,

Attention Getter: India is a country known for its rich and diverse culture. When it comes to fashion there are a variety of different styles just like any other country. But what really sets it apart is the bright colors and the heavy work on the outfits which you don’t see very often.

Shades of orange, purple, green, deep red, magenta and dark blue make beautiful festive colors. If you are going for a monochromatic theme, go for colors like champagne, iris, sapphire, tango pink and laurel green. Diwali festivities are spread over multiple days in some regions, during which celebrants explode fireworks, share sweets, and send greetings to friends and family. Women may have their hands decorated with henna designs. Homes are decorated with small lamps and colorful paper lanterns called diyas and kandils, important parts of Diwali decorations. In some parts of India, Hindus also create rangoli, intricate floor paintings made of colored tikka powder or sand. Rangoli designs are made up of an unbroken line, the idea being that there should be no gaps through which evil spirits can enter. Motifs are usually natural – animals, flowers, etc.— though they can also include geometric patterns.