Block Print Color

My previous posts about block printing favor light natural colors. But of course block prints also come in luscious and even riotous color. Check out this first one — looks like the richness of pomegranate color!

Images from Soma, textile creators and exporters in India:

These can be yours, at Soma shops in India. (By the way, I am not paid at all to post about where to get these things — I really appreciate it when other bloggers reveal where to find the things we adore, so I’m just sharing in the same way.)

From Kilol, here is a combination of prints similar to the look I favor from Les Indiennes but stronger in black and white — a mix of very large and small prints:

This image above reminds me — this weekend I got a little package in the mail from my parents. It was an envelope of photos they found of my first apartment as a single gal finally earning enough for my own place, in the mid-90s. That apartment was full of black, white, gray, maple and other blond woods, just like the photo above. I had columns and Grecian busts mixed with modern silver/aluminum things. Framed posters of words and fonts. A cardboard chair! An eclectic mix. I loved what I lived with then, I love what I live with now. Certainly there’s much more color now. Oh how things have changed over the years. I think we all evolve that way, don’t we?

Back to the block print obsession of today. Following images are from Anokhi’s USA website (although I’d rather go to Mauritius to buy in person there! ha ha). Here’s only one of an enormous selection of hand-printed cotton voile scarves:

I love cotton voile. Sewing is one of my hobbies and for summer I sew dresses with two layers of cotton voile — one outer layer usually with a printed design, and a solid lining layer. It’s so sheer, you need minimum two layers. The two layers of cotton voile feel luxurious due to the quality of the fabric, and they’re very cool in hot climates. Lightweight cotton voile scarves are a great way to add a punch of color to spring and summer outfits. Anokhi is in Chennai as well as many other cities in India. Surely I’ll stop in the Chennai store on our next trip. Thankfully it’s not far from our apartment in T Nagar. If you’re in Jaipur, you can visit the Anokhi Museum on hand block printing. As I appreciate textiles and learning more about them, that’s on my must-stop list whenever we get to visit Jaipur.

Speaking of learning about textiles, Selvedge magazine celebrates all textiles. Here’s an image from the magazine of brilliant block print inks:

Imagine mounting wood print blocks with remnants of color inks on a wall — they really are little works of art:

If you find wood print blocks with ink, don’t wash it off — hang mixed colors together. Or apply ink to unpainted blocks you find. The mix of various colors could bring an eye-catching look to a wall, more than plain wood.