Patchiran – empowering women thru textile art

British textile designer shares her journey with designing, teaching

TBy Chaitali B. Roy Special to the Arab Times

hirty years ago, Michelle Gilder, a young British textile designer married and relocated to Iran, a guarded and not-so-friendly place for Westerners in those days. For the first half of her life there, Gilder devoted herself to learning the traditional crafts and arts for which her new home was fabled. And in the years that followed, the designer drew on her skills, experience and learning to create and sustain ‘Patchiran’ a project that successfully empowered thousands of Iranian women through textile art, and helped them support their families at a time when their country was on an economic back foot.

From 2005 onwards, Patchiran taught patchwork, quilting, appliqué, fabric dyeing, cartonage, and traditional embroidery to 5,000 women from all walks of life. This week, Michelle Gilder was in Kuwait to judge the 17th Annual Textile Arts Exhibition presented by Kuwait Textile Arts Association under the auspices of Sadu House held at the Al Funoon Hall at Dahiyat Abdulla Salem on Sunday, May 22.

Apart from judging the show, Gilder also held a couple of workshops, and on May 23 Monday, she presented a two-hour interactive lecture where she spoke of her work as a teacher and highlighted the relevance and importance of art education.

“I have lived in Iran for 30 years, and I love it,” shared Gilder before she went on to speak of her journey with designing, teaching and learning in the UK and later in Iran. She spoke of the process of setting up an organization, the progress it made and the economic and social potentials that could be explored with the hope that her message of learning and sustaining would benefit an organization like KTAA, which too has its own story of knowing and growing.

Relocation

Some of the textile works on display at the KTAA exhibition.

After graduating from Derby University in UK, Gilder worked as a designer for well-known retailers. Relocation to Iran was an adventure, and

British textile designer Michelle Gilder displays ‘Patchiran’ quilt.

she soon took to learning traditional crafts like miniature painting, carpet weaving, water-colour painting, and traditional portrait painting. “When you study designing, you can resume career anytime.”

And that is what Michelle Gilder did. When the time came, she picked up the threads and with the help of friends started patchwork quilting in Iran. “In the old days, the Iranians used to make clothes where they quilted layers of fabrics together to protect themselves from the cold.” But the art of patchwork quilting was new to Iran, and it soon caught on.

In 2002, Gilder bought a Bernina machine and started a quilt group that taught the Iranians new techniques. An enthusiastic response to an exhibition held after a few years led to the establishment of a school for quilters. “Initially, we did not see it as a business, but we quickly learned that it could become a productive enterprise.” To elevate a creative exercise from a hobby to a sustainable enterprise one needs ethics, business acumen, and the right skills. “Good teachers are critical,” pointed out Gilder. “I think you have to think about it in Kuwait because if you want to progresses to a European standard you have to make sure you have your inputs as far as teaching is concerned.”

Michelle Gilder cannot emphasize the role of learning in the growth and development of an organization like Patchiran enough. “Channelizing creativity from the craft to art is difficult,” she said speaking of the Iranian quilters who excel in the craft, unlike their European counterparts. “The Europeans have the artistic skills whereas we in the Middle East excel in craft skills.”

She also spoke of the need to involve locals in sustaining an association. “You have to spread the word nationally,” she told the members of KTAA. “In Iran, there are no expatriates. The members of Patchiran are all Iranians.” And these Iranian quilters after honing their craft used their skills and knowledge either to start a small enterprise or they became teachers. “Some of these women are from the lower income group and cannot afford classes. We provide them support, but they have to give back in some way. Some of them become teachers, which is an incredible thing for those women. There was a student who travelled 900 kilometres for nine years every week and her work is excellent,” said Gilder pointing out to some splendid examples on the screen.

Knowledge

Michelle Gilder repeatedly emphasized the role that textile arts play at empowering women with knowledge and skills. “Quilting and textile arts empower women by creating sustainable jobs and encourage gender equality. When a woman succeeds in supporting her family, it makes her feel special. She feels she will be taken seriously.” Seeking out inspiration from local design elements, she says helps to attract the attention of locals to the quilt group. “In the Middle East, there are many possibilities and innovations. You have to open the window to ideas and inspiration.”

To the members of Kuwait Textile Arts Association, who she urged to take quilting more seriously, she said, “It is very brave to enter a quilt show. The only way to bring your work up to the standard is to take part in shows. Keep entering quilt shows. It is good for you and the art.” Gilder had a special word of appreciation for the journal quilts on display. “Journal quilts are the way to go ahead for art quilts. Some lovely things are happening there,” said Gilder.

This year, the KTAA put up an interesting mix of work at their textile art exhibition, which is an annual culmination of creativity, hard work and talent.

The journal quilts, small A4 size theme based art quilts were a new exciting addition. “Our theme was four elements — earth, water, fire and air,” said Shyamala Rao, a senior member of KTAA. “The idea was to help the quilters think out of the box in techniques and execution to produce an original piece of art. The group of 15 who participated in this category belonged to different nationalities, and I could clearly see the thought process vary according to their exposure.” The exhibition that took place from Sunday, May 22 to Wednesday, May 25 was interesting and prolific. This year, the Best of the Show went to Yan Liu for ‘Infinity’.