The ancient art of hand embroidery remains one of the best and unique ways of creating beautiful designs with yarn or thread and needle. A lot of time and effort is put into hand embroidery but the outcome makes one forget about the initial stress experienced. Hand embroidery is gradually becoming a major fashion trend and also a means of expressing one’s art on fabric. Looking back at historical records, one can confidently say that hand embroidery has existed for a very long time. From a period in the Middle – East where it was used to represent one’s class and position in the society to a period in this 21st century where it has become a means of expressing one’s art/designs to be used by anyone irrespective of position or class; hand embroidery has surely come to stay.
The final output of any design made through hand embroidery is an immense proof of creativity at its peak. This hand embroidery of Mahātria rā is a perfect example. Mahātria rā is an Indian spiritual leader but he is popularly known as Mahātria by his followers. He founded the Infinitheism movement which represents spiritual freedom, happiness and abundance. Mahātria has been responsible for spiritually guiding individuals who later experienced transformation in their lives then approached life and love with a new zeal and renewed energy.
This embroidery of Mahātria rā was made for a wall hanging and involved so much time and effort in its production. In four days, 12 – 13 hours of effort was put in just to realise this beautiful masterpiece. Red cotton yarn was used in the decoration of this design. Red is a colour which is not only symbolic for passion but also some form of spirituality. It could be a form of spiritual awakening or otherwise. Thus, it was exclusively used in the creation of this art.
The process involved in the embroidery of Mahātria is quite intricate and involves a careful attention to subtle details. The process involves the use of a canvas, a decal paper, a needle and a red yarn. The canvas serves as a base for most threadwork/embroidery. Mahātria’s drawing was printed on the decal paper which was then transferred to the canvas. This led to a replication of Mahātria’s face on the canvas. This done, artisans could then continuously stitch along the lines of the replicated drawing on the canvas till Mahātria’s face is fully formed and the boundaries carefully embroidered. Careful attention must be paid to every subtle detail in the drawing else some features of his face might be missed. The process was carried out by two persons.
Just like the Indian spiritual leader, Mahātria rā, this embroidery of him symbolizes spiritual freedom, wisdom and happiness. It could be hung on a wall for decorative/reverential purposes and could be used in place of a painting. Every detail found in the painting was carefully focused on in the hand design to avoid a distorted version of the model (drawing) used.