A New Block Printing From India

Yesterday, I asked Siri the difference between a pot and a pan and quickly learned, after all these years of vague guesswork, that a pot has two handles and a pan only one. I've gotten used to that much clarity at my fingertips, the computerized answers of She Who Knows. Who are the 12 actors who have played Marilyn Monroe? How many countries are in Africa? What is a CNO cycle?

But it isn't always so clear. Life is complicated, like I need to remind you, and Siri actually says at times, bless her, I don't know. While a bit unsettling, that throws me back on myself; it makes me compose my own thoughts and that exploration is creative. No wonder it is artists who live more comfortably with the uncertain, the unknowing, the muss. It's how we come up with something new.  

Like block-printing in India - a very clear-cut affair executed with precision.  But along comes Bhoomi Dani out of Design School and she gives all of that order some spontaneity. One of her first collections she called, The Art of the Undefined Sleeve. Hazy circles softened further by cotton that flows around undefined sleeves. I think it takes the heart of an artist to wear one of these creations - or at least someone who allows themselves to compose their own path through life's uncertainties.

I am so pleased to celebrate this new designer and the artisans by her side exploring the relaxed ease of the caftan, inviting us into the creative haze of not knowing, especially good in the heart of summer.

It doesn't surprise me that the ambassadors of Bhoomi's work are the creative leaders of India.  I love the power of their faces, and the easy grace of their clothes. And that goes for the artisans creating these beauties, hand-twisting each tassel into something new and strong and stunning..  Here, now, for you at Ibu - introducing The Art of the Undefined.  May you finesse it well.

All the Best,
Susan Hull Walker