The Art of Indian Block Print FabricThe art of Indian block print fabric is a labor-intensive, painstaking process thathas survived from ancient times to the present because of the beauty of the handmade products. Scraps of cloth found in the ruins of Mohenjo Daro, an ancient city of theIndus Valley Civilization, provide evidence that this type of fabric decoration was practiced in India as long ago as 3000 BCE. The art flourished in the 12
th
century under the patronage of the rajas. The 17
th
century saw its revitalization. And still, here in the21
st
century, block printing of fabric by hand is an art practiced by Indian artisans for theenjoyment of owners of those fabrics throughout the world.The process takes time, team work and, especially, skill. The three main toolsused by fabric printers are wooden blocks, fabric and dye. It can take five carvers up tothree days to create an intricate design in a block of teak for use for printing. The printersmay use up to 30 blocks to complete a design. Separate pieces of wood are required for each of the colors used in a design and it is not unusual to have four or five colors in a professional design. It can take twenty people, each doing a separate task, up to eighthours to prepare a single block printed garment. With all this, the results can only beunique.The process begins with the wooden blocks. Wood carvers cut designs into blocks of different shapes and sizes. The top has a handle for the printers to grasp. Eachone has two or three cylindrical holes through it to permit the passage of air and to allowexcess dye to squeeze out. There are also various points carved into to the piece of woodwhich the printers use as placement indicators as they pick the block up and move it to
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