elephants just passing

I am sitting in an internet cafe in Udaipur, southern Rajasthan in India.
Glancing out the door I saw an elephant passing. He was hot so took some water from the tub out there and splashed all over himself before continuing upthe hill.
I love this place it is so full of surprises.
i have a fascination with this place and will continue tovisitas often as i can.i find so much stimulation formy art work.
the rich colours,the appreciation of beauty, the appreciation and celebration of the feminine.
India has not been impacted by the Modernist approach that has influenced the west for the last 100hundred years and so colour and pattern, and tradition as seen as valid foundations forthis days expression.
Pattern is often createdby hand, not mechanical and so has a freshness and vitality toitnot found in something createdby a mechanical process.
Temples and Havellis [ palaces] are handcarved and often each pillar of a temple will have similar but differnet patterning- each being created as a kind of moving meditation for the diety the temple is in honour of.

looking andnoticing all of these small and large differences in arts practice helps me to gain a greaterdepth of understanding into what i am doing too.

Yesterday spent the day with Yacob- ji an acknowlwdged Master of natural dyes.Many preceeding generations of his family have worked in this method [ his youngest son Belial also has the passion and will follow his father's footsteps]. Yacob-ji's knowlwdge is encyclopeadic and his generosity in sharing it is unstinting.

my first textile tour will start next week and when we are in Udaipur we will spend the day with him in his workshop trying our hand at block printing, kundri [ tie and dye southern Rajastahni style] and and be introduced to the wonders of the vibrant colours he can create with natural materials.