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APPLIQUE |
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Orissa, the home of traditional arts and crafts and renowned for the temple of Lord Jagannath is proud of its applique work, which unlike that in many other places is yet alive and flourishing, linked with a high degree of technical skill and imagination. Applique in Orissa is an old temple art, which has been refined to a perfection. A fine example of the craft is the enormous applique canopies above the reigning deity of puri, Lord Jagannath. Applique art is the process of cutting coloured cloth into shapes of animals, birds, flowers, leaves and other decorative motifs and stitching them on to a piece of cloth that can ultimately be used as a lamp shade, a hand bag or even a garden umbrella. The village of Pipli, close to Bhubaneswar, is the site of beautiful applique work, created by artists, quite a few of whom have won national awards for their crafts. The technique of applique work consists cutting of clothes into various floral, faunal and geometrical shapes and sizes and then stiching them on a cloth as a background to produce a harmonious, enchanting and colourful desired pattern. Keeping pace with modern tastes, the craft has also adopted itself to the needs of modern man. Among the more popular applique items today are garden umbrellas, a variant of chhati with wooden or aluminium stands, shoulder bags, ladies hand bags, wall hangings, lamp shades, bed covers, pillow covers, letter pouches, etc. Applique items are also being used in combination with other handicrafts to produce composite products.
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