Warli is an art form that originated in the outskirts of Mumbai in the state of Maharashtra. This art form is used to decorate the walls of the village houses. The walls are patted with mud or cowdung and the art form is then painted on it with simple stokes.
This art form though tribal art does not depict any mythological stories or historic events. Instead it illustrates more daily rituals, practices, social events and festivals. This makes Warli more relatable to the modern world as well! The Warli paintings are made of simple line art and rhythmic patterns. They generally have human images, common domesticated animal and birds like cows, bulls, dogs, sheep, chicken etc. They also have several tree patterns and plants, a sun or a moon and village houses. Of course there is no limit to the additions one could have in Warli, and it could include anything from a bullok cart to a car!
It is the beauty in the simplicity of Warli that has attracted me to this art form. With simple art strokes, the depictions of daily life can be represented with a lot of variety. The form has its own flexibility and it is easy to modify to suite individual taste. Although there are some common Warli patters like the circle of people, smiling sun, tree of life, peacock and so on, nothing in Warli is rigid.
This art form can be used to enhance several projects. One could make paintings, bookmarks etc or use the form over terracotta pots, glass ware, fabric, jewellery and so on... the list is as unlimited as your creativity.
Let me share with you a simple card I first made using a common Warli pattern. I chose a read plain black card which came with a plain envelope. I needed a thin (size0-1) brush and gold paint. (Tip: you can also use a sharpie) The card has an unassumed circular drawn pattern, which I drew freehand but you could always use a stencil to draw a base circle. One the circle I have painted the human figures which are simple line art (circle for the head, and stick drawing for the body!) Do remember though they are not simple stick bodies the way children make, because these have more character and you need to have them perform various actions (more about this some other time :)) All the figure have their hands joined together making the circle. I added a man playing an intrument with the circle and to add in more design I added a simple border to a card and continued the same border on the card envelope too.
This card represents a form of celebration to me and I can give this through for any celbratory occasion. You can always change cetrain elements in this card to make it more personal, like add a cake in the center instead of the human figure for birthdays, or a house for house warming and you have a cute card to suite the specific occasion! Like I did say with Warli the possibilities are endless... you just got to be creative! So go on unleash your creativity and we will too and make some more projects with Warli!
If you need ideas for your Warli card, write to us as we will be glad to help in!
