BENGALURU: Unlike any other form of art, quilting emerged out of necessity. In fact its origin can be traced to India, but irrespective of any country, quilting was an important skill. The global need of the item also offered a global variety. Quilting master Paramjeet Bawa, who has won international awards for her art will be conducting a four-day workshop in the city on April 18 at Tsala Studio.
Paramjeet started quilting in Kuwait, about 15-years-ago by joining a quilting class so that she could make friends. Having no idea about art, the Biological Science major, ended up winning various quilting competitions. “I did not know I had it in me. The only art I had done was drawings for my zoology and botany subjects,” laughs Paramjeet. “But one competition lead to another and then went to nationals and the internationals,” adds Paramjeet. She won five awards in Birmingham quilt exhibit and managed to find a mention in “the Ocars of the quilting world,” Houston exhibit. Paramjeet’s quilt art is mostly for wall decors and not to be used as a blanket.
Quilting is a process of stitching three or more layers of fabric together to make it a thick padded material.
“During the time of famine in America, it is said that sacks were quilted to make dresses for children,” says Paramjeet.
She was invited to Kenya, India and other places in the Middle East to conduct quilting workshop. She realised that she loved to teach quilting and decided to conduct workshops full-time. Last October she came to India and now resides in Gurugram.
This will be her first workshop in Bengaluru. There will be three quilting artworks that will be taught in a four-day workshop. The first day will feature a workshop on how to stylise the pattern and make it contemporary art.
Paramjeet says that quilting should not be an exact copy of the painting. She will teach the popular confetti technique of quilting and the art of mixing fabric. Machine embroidery will be used to embellish the landscape technique.
Over a period of time, Paramjeet has developed her own technique called “cheat as treat”, which is an easy technique to make your own pattern. Her technique is the outcome of her art observation as a beginner.
The play of various fabrics that the workshop calls for will also demonstrate Paramjeet’s biggest challenge as a beginner on how to translate the image into the fabric. The process of quilting takes three months, but the workshop will teach quick techniques for a day’s quilt art.