JOIN USThreading your imagination
It is said that patience is virtue and having patience especially while working on a piece of art is a test in itself. A fine example of that is Rameshwari Kurup who has been dedicatedly creating thread paintings since the past 22 years.
Not an easy art work, one needs great determination and lots of patience to make each piece. “It is a rare form of art work done using the traditional form of embroidery. I use different colours of cotton threads instead of paint to make my paintings. It is a self-taught art and I have not received any professional training in it,” says Rameshwari.
She says that she was always interested in learning new art forms, but being a housewife she never got a chance to manifest her creative side.
“I used to paint and was quite good at it in school. But as I grew up, I never really got a chance to explore this side of myself. My biggest inspiration is Raja Ravi Verma and his paintings and I still get inspired looking at them. I used to be fascinated by his work and a few European classic works that I saw in an exhibitions,” details Rameshwari.
So how did she get interested in thread painting? She says that before starting to work on these paintings, she extensively worked on embroidery and that’s when she thought of incorporating the same technique neatly on a canvas.
“I slowly started using the embroidery techniques with different colours of thread on a canvas. It took a lot of time for me to get the art form right but after several attempts, when the first word of appreciation came, I felt accomplished. And since then, I started taking this up more seriously,” she says.
She highlights that it is an exclusive art form and is rarely practised around the world. It is based solely on one’s imagination and creativity. “I conceptualise the idea by drawing it on a cotton cloth and then overlay it with thread in satin stitch pattern. I mostly use the famous DMC thread from France. Though many confuse this art work with cross stitch work, the two are entirely different,” says Rameshwari.
Each thread painting, she says, takes a minimum of four months to complete and requires a lot of patience and determination throughout. One needs to be extremely careful as the slightest of wrong thread movements can change the shape of the painting.
“Since it takes so much time, there are chances for one’s concentration to break. It also depends on one’s mood and they need to be extremely focussed. However, as it is said, hard work always pays and the final product is inevitably beautiful,” she says.
She is planning a solo exhibition in the coming months; however, Rameshwari is waiting for more art works to be completed before the big day.
“Initially, I didn’t understand the worth of these paintings and used to give them away as gifts. But slowly, I understood the importance of it. My family, especially my children, have been very supportive and help me with their suggestions. Their eagerness to know what I am making next is what keeps me going,” says Rameshwari with a broad smile.