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For centuries, the art of Hand Block Printing has been practiced in many areas of Rajasthan; each area having its own color schemes and designs. Through the use of carved wooden blocks, the artist is able to produce a wide range of fabrics in rich colors and attractive designs.
Traditionally, Sanganer produced fine small floral motifs on white backgrounds for the royal court, whilst Bagru produced simplified graphic designs for the local rural people.
The process of hand block printing is very elaborate and interesting. Once the teak block has been carved, the cloth to be printed is stretched out on a waist high table, five meters long and pinned at each end to secure it. A tray is filled with the pigment and the block is placed in to it to collect the accurate amount of dye. The block is placed carefully on the fabric and struck with the heel of the printer’s hand. The process is repeated, precisely aligning the block each time until the entire cloth is covered.
The cloth can be stamped over a 1000 times for three meters. The block-maker may take up to 80 hours to carve a single color block and the printer may require up to 30 separate blocks to complete a garment or quilt.
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