Warli Painting Workshop

Warli Painting Workshop

Attended by students of Architecture of BVB College, Hubli.

Date: 23rd February 2010

Venue: Ajjimane at Sirsi.

Conducted by : Sri Ajit Hegde.

Concept by: Amrut Joshi & Infrastructure One Team, Hubli.

Decorative walls are assets of a building. The most ancient caves were decorated by ancestors with paintings depicting their day to day life. One of the age old art which is today’s trend is the Warli Art. It has a wide approach in the fields of architecture, textile design, interior design, product design today. Taking this into consideration, a workshop on warli art was organized for the students of architecture of BVB College, Hubli.

Experiment on a primitive art in midst of nature would be an experience in itself. Ajjimane in Sirsi was the ideal place opted and it proved to be one. On 23rd February, a team of 39 architecture students and the Infra One Gang started from Hubli early in the morning and reached Ajjimane at around 10. Right in time for a delightful breakfast arranged outdoors. An informal Introduction was conducted where the team was introduced to the owner of Ajjimane Sri Shashidhar Bhat, the backbone of the workshop Sri Amrut Joshi, The Infra One team, Sri Ajit Hegde, Warli Artist from Sirsi settled in Hubli, Sri Devdutta Arasu from Bangalore who has immense interest in photography, Sri Udayan Kayande from Nagpur who proved to be the centre of attraction the whole day because of his wit and team building techniques.

The first session was welcomed with great enthusiasm when the students were bifurcated in 6 groups for which they had to choose a team leader and a unique name. Sri H S Patil of the Infra One team took over the attention with a brief history of Warli Art and a presentation on the same was followed. Sri Ajit Hegde then demonstrated the basic motifs used in Warli Art. The first outdoor session started after the students were allotted with one terracotta item each with base paint. The teams then had their own ideas sketched on their pots and were engrossed in the depths of detailing. (The designed terracotta items were given to the students to carry home at the end of the day)

An authentic brown rice lunch with Sirsi delicacies was served on banana leaf which was relished by all. The second session was a group project. The teams were given small portions on the walls of Ajjimane and were asked to fill it up with Warli paintings but with a theme. The output from the students was satisfying and inturn the students were taken to a surprise trek on a hill top where the sun set was visible at its best.

A concluding session with prizes distributed to the best group work and the outstanding student of the team, was followed by a simple dinner. On the spot recreation was exhibited by the students and the professionals present there. The day was wrapped up with memories that will remain and cherish for time immemorial.