In the summer of 2018 we invited madhubani artist Ratneshwar Jha and Manoj Jha from Madhubani, Bihar. The workshops were held from 26th April to 8th May across Pune and Bangalore. Yes, this summer we had our maiden workshop in Bangalore.
Master Artisan led Madhubani workshop in Pune and Bangalore
Madhubani, which means the ‘Forest of Honey’, is a small village in the northern part of Bihar where this artform originated. Manoj Jha and Ratneshwar Jha are traditional madhubani artists practising this artform over 30+ years and their families since generations.
This 8 day workshop in Bangalore enabled the participants to go deep into the subject.
The participants learnt the basic and intermediate aspects of madhubani from making intricate borders, distinct motifs of birds, animals, trees and human figures.
‘Kachni kaam’ is an important feature of Madhubani where no space is left empty. With perfection participants had perseverance in creating splendid artworks.
5days and 3days courses were also conducted to suit the work schedules and ensure flexibility of timing to the enthusiasts.
Madhubani was practiced in olden days using natural handmadecolors. All the participants tried their hands in creating their own natural colors extracted from leaves, flowers, turmeric, rice, vegetables and other materials. Glue or ‘gond’ was made during the workshops as an adhesive that gets mixed with the natural colours before applying.
The participants created 1-sided wall lamps, 4-sided table lamps and magazine holders. While paper and canvas as a medium was already introduced in our previous workshops, participants enjoyed exploring madhubani over a wooden surface in making the magazine holders.
