Introduction to Block Printing with Visiting Artist Sunaina Bhalla

3-Hour Workshop

Date: Saturday, October 18

Time: 11am-2pm

Description: Join Visiting Artist Sunaina Bhalla for a special 3-hour introduction to techniques and applications of traditional block printing! Returning to Pittsburgh after having exhibited in this past summer's Fiberart International exhibition at Contemporary Craft, Sunaina will lead workshop participants through the process of printing and designing layouts with block printing, with an emphasis on placement, color and design.

Block printing is a centuries-old form of printing that utilizes a wood block, carved with a pattern, to stamp patterns onto paper and cloth. The process has long been used for creating intricate patters, and also has the wondrous ability to breathe new life into old and worn materials (garments, home linens, to name a few). In this class, the focus will be primarily on printing on cloth, utilizing already-carved blocks.

Participants will learn how to print using the stamping process and how to do layouts on material based on the final product. They will get an overview of various contemporary uses and applications of block printing, and they will walk away with 2 to 3 pieces of printed cloth that they will create.

Tuition: $65 + $20 materials fee

Note: We really want you to join us in the studio! Full and partial tuition scholarships are available to offset some of the financial burden of attending a class.

Please fill out the application here! You can expect to hear from someone on the CC staff within 2 weeks.

If you have any questions, email Jamie Boyle, Fibers Program Manager, at jboyle@contemporarycraft.org, or leave a voice message for them at 412-465-1639.

Materials: All materials will be provided.

Location: Contemporary Craft, Timmons Studios (5688 Butler St., Pittsburgh, PA 15201). Note, this workshop will take place in the Fleischner Family Fibers Loft, which is on the second floor of the building.

There are 2 entrances to the Timmons Studios.

• One entrance is facing Butler Street. To access the Fibers Loft from the Butler Street facing entrance, there are a total of 32 stairs to ascend.

• One entrance is facing 57th Street. This entrance is accessible by ramp, with no stairs to ascend. There is a lift inside the building to access the second floor.

If there are accessibility accommodations we can provide, or if there is anything you would like us to know before you arrive, please feel free to call Jamie Boyle at 412-465-1639 or email jboyle@contemporarycraft.org.

Cancellations and Refunds: Workshop cancellations are decided three business days before the start date. If workshops must be cancelled due to insufficient enrollment, the entire class fee will be refunded through Eventbrite, or you may leave your workshop fee in your Contemporary Craft account for future workshops.

Refund Policy: Student refund requests must be made at least three business days before a class begins. There will be a $25 cancellation fee. No refunds will be given without three-business days notice. Processing of refunds takes approximately three weeks.

About the Artist

Sunaina Bhalla is a contemporary artist of Indian origin, who lives and works in Singapore. Educated in India, she moved to Tokyo in the late 90’s and has spent the last two decades in various parts of North and South Asia. Having completed her formal education as a textile designer specializing in print, she chose to pursue an immersive education in the traditional art form of Nihonga in Japan, where she spent 5 years studying under Suiko Ohta-sensei of the Kyoshin-Do school. She completed her Masters of Fine Arts degree from Goldsmiths University, London where her thesis topic was ‘The Body and the Ritual of Pain’

Her work revolves around the repetitive and ritualistic nature of gestures and their traces. She explores the transformative effects of the deliberate infliction of pain on the human body during the curative process of alleviating disease and decay. By using industrial materials analogous to the fragile nature of the body, juxtaposed with fabric and embroidery, she examines the passage of time and the mark making that documents this process. Sunaina is currently researching traditional healing practices in Singapore and South East Asia with a focus on Ayurveda and Traditional Medicine that employ natural remedies like spices and herbs in chronic health conditions like Diabetes and Breast Cancer. Concurrently, she is also rediscovering her interest in printing processes as a contemporary visual language. She has been running wood block printing workshops in Singapore, Myanmar and Indonesia and is working with international schools to introduce this process into school curriculums in Singapore.

Sunaina has exhibited in Japan, India, Singapore, Europe and the Middle East. Her works are in the permanent collections of the ESSL Museum, Vienna and Mumbai Airports Authority, India, and in various private collections globally. She has alsohad her works successfully auctioned at the Mainichi Auction in Japan.