Manthan – a workshop making with mind, matter & craft, Kolkata.
Manthan is an experimental workshop drawing together master craftsmen from selected crafts and practitioners from the domains of design, technology and social sciences. The workshop intends to bridge the divide between seemingly incongruous legacies—of traditional craft on the one hand and contemporary design on the other. The workshop involves master craftsmen from various fields—e.g. mask making, pottery, and basketry. The workshop will simulate the experience of re-imagining hand made objects at the intersections of craft & contemporaneity, human & technology, imperfection & utility. The effort is to preserve the human touch, values, and cultural awareness in our built environment and to escape the omnipresent homogeneity of mass products that make us desensitized to the loss of sustainable practices, cultural heritage, and larger social realities.
Basketry Weaving
Exploration of basketry weaving and its process of making, experimenting with weaving patterns, colors and materials for different designs. Box weaving, hexagonal weaving and octagonal weaving were explored using colored bamboo strands and different materials. By combining the process with other craft practices, a new design language and context of making emerged.
Sophie Richter 