Hand Block Printing Workshops at Bernardsville Library

Master artist Shanti Jain will teach traditional Asian Indian Sanganeri hand block printing techniques in two workshops on Sunday, February 26 at Bernardsville Public Library. The workshops are being held in conjunction with the current exhibition, "Welcome Neighbor: Sharing Cultural Art Traditions II," sponsored by the Somerset County Cultural & Heritage Commission.

Block printing is applied in motifs which are inspired by nature, dyeing fabric in pastel shades or retaining them white. Participants will take home a traditional art form they created and learned more about. There will be two workshops, one for adults and teens at 3:30 pm during which participants will create their own paper greeting cards or cotton handkerchiefs, and a similar workshop for children at 1:30 pm.

Shanti Jain, whose worked is featured in the exhibition, is an Asian Indian folk artist from Plainsboro, New Jersey who specializes in traditional Indian arts and crafts, Indian cooking, and teaching Indian languages. She has led many workshops about Indian crafts through the Middlesex County Cultural & Heritage Commission, USDA, as well as other organizations. She is an accomplished artist in Sanganeri Hand Block Printing and Bandhini (Tie & Dye). Born in Jaipur, India she grew up in a family with a very long tradition, of many generations, involved in block printing. She was inspired by the skilled artisans who made intricate designs, and learned this traditional craft through association with them. She continues to carry on these folk traditions, passing them on to Asian Indians and other communities. She is also a gourmet cook having represented the North East Region in the Master Chef cooking competition on PBS in the year 2000. Ms. Jain has been teaching Hindi language for the last few years in the STARTALK summer program sponsored by the Defense Department.

The indigenous art exhibition and public arts outreach workshops are made possible, in part, by the New Jersey State Council on the Arts/Dept. of State, through the State/County Local Arts Program Grant administered for Somerset County by the Somerset County Cultural & Heritage Commission, and Somerset County Board of Chosen Freeholders.

There is no charge to attend the program, but advance sign-up is required because space is limited. Register online at www.bernardsvillelibrary.org and follow the link from Adult Programs for the adult workshop or from Kids for the children’s workshop, or call the library at 908-766-0118 to sign up.