~Warli Art ~

Warli Art is one of the Ancient Indian folk art originated in the Warli region of Maharashtra India. It is a form of tribal art mostly created by the tribal people from the North Sahyadri Range in Maharashtra such as Dahanu, Talasari, Jawhar, Palghar, Mokhada, and Vikramgad of Palghar district and  is still practiced today.

This is an tribal art form, mainly drawn with the use of geometric shapes like circles, triangles and squares to form numerous shapes depicting life and beliefs of the Warli tribe. In olden days, Warli art was done on walls on special occasions. The painting would be done over a brown background which would basically be a mixture of mud and cow dung cakes. The white pigment used to draw shapes and figures would be a mixture of rice mixed with water and gum. One of the most popular themes in Warli art is a spiral chain of humans around one central motif. This in accordance with their belief that life is an eternal journey, and it has no beginning and end.

(Acrylic Warli Art form on canvas with different vibrant background colours using Henna, Indigo, Ochre, Black, Earthy mud, Brick red ,shows Celebration Theme Coated With Varn.)

(Ancient wall painting of Warli shows group of men and womens  dancing around a person playing the music )

(Ancient wall painting of Warli shows descriptive harvest scene)

        

 # Origin of warli Art:

Warli Art was first discovered in the early seventies. but its roots may be traced  as early as the 10th century AD. When men learnt to build walls of the house. Warli is expression of daily and social events of the Warli tribe of Maharashtra, used by them to decorate the walls of village houses. This was the only means of transmitting folklore to others who are not acquainted with the written word.

The Warlis are well known today for their unique form of decorative art. They paint life with amazingly detailed and in an beautiful way of depicting every aspect of life that surround their daily routine..

Traditionally, they painted on walls during the time of celebrations for auspicious occasions, but gradually over the years the themes were also transferred to small curios made of bamboo, cloth, pots of mud & dried bottle gourd. One of the main themes that occur in their paintings is that of people dancing in spirals & open-ended circles. They see themselves as joyous dancers in this time frame. 

Their art also expresses an interesting aspect of their inherent philosophy, that of austerity. All their stories, with their various moods and feelings which are expressed with just two basic colours – the brown of the earth and the white of the rice paste.

 Warli paintings are traditionally the domain of Warli womens called suvasinis .These paintings were made on the walls of the houses at the time of marriage by suvasinis or married women whose husband are living and as considered to be a good omen. But over the years as the contact with the mainstream culture and the commercial value increased this art was taken over by the men folks. Unlike other folk and tribal paintings of India the warli paintings do not depict any mythological stories. The theme is centred on the flora and fauna in the environment and their festivals and their day to day activities

 # Categories of Warli Art :

Warli Art can be divided into four categories: 1) The Gods, 2) The People, 3) The Animals and 4) Rights and rituals.

In The Gods they have their old folk stories which they paint, about their gods and how they created the world. They also paint on the themes of God punishing people for showing disrespect to the mother earth. These paintings tells us about their devotional nature towards the supreme power of the Nature and their Gods. Under the category of The People they mostly paint about good deeds which one should do in his or her life and bad deeds which one should keep himself away from. Under The Animals they have the stories of their pet animals like dogs, cows, buffalos, hen, goats and all the other animals living with them in the jungle. The most famous paintings they paint is on Tiger. under the Theme of ‘Rights and Rituals, in which they paint about festivals, celebrations and other auspicious occasions. Like all tribal warli’s too are simple, docile and fun loving folks. Festivals and occasions are celebrated with dance, music, food and alcohol. Warli people celebrates many festivals and this celebration involves singing, dancing, drinking and decorating house walls with paintings under the theme of those festivals. For the festival Diwali, which is celebrated by performing ‘Tarpa Dance’, They paint men and women singing and performing Tarpa Dance, on their walls.

(warli wall painting decoration shows group of men and womens  dancing around the sun or the moon )

(warli wall painting decoration showing warli peoples daily routine , going for doing farming)

               

#Process of Making Warli Art :

The Warli Art is based on three elementary shapes combined in various ways The triangle, The circle ,and the square with dots and dashes represents geometrical designs and single line. Through this the Warli art represent their oral legends , which tells the transition from the nomadic life to that of agricultural permanence .

Until the end of the 60s, almost exclusively women did Warli art but now it’s the men folk also engaged in the art. The figures and traditional motifs are very repetitive and highly symbolic. When looked closely, they have a light singing and swirling movement, describing their daily activities. They communicate through their paintings and their life style and passion for nature are depicted simply. A multiplicity of events takes place simultaneously, and the perspective changes. Each painting has numerous elements giving a vast panoramic view. The subjects found in these paintings are wedding scenes, animals, birds, trees, men, womens,childrens, descriptive harvest scene, group of men and womens  dancing around a person playing the music, dancing peacocks, and many more.

 Their old traditional method of art is, They paint on walls coated with cow dung which is the base of the art. On the top of this cow dung coated wall they paint with white paste made of rice. They still follow the same method of painting on walls but when it comes to paint on canvases, paper, cloth, clay pots and other materials the procedure varies.

To paint on canvas they use poster colour mixed with glue to make it more durable. For the base they still use the same material, cow dung, coal, indigo, mud, geru but mixed with glue. After coating the canvas with the base colour they keep it for an hour or two to get dry. They iron the canvas up side down to make it wrinkle free before starting to paint on it. Warlis do not use any tracing sheets or rough drawings they just have a good story in mind. Traditionally their paintings are made on walls and the colours they use to paint on walls are not permanent colours. Typical the Background colours of their paintings are Henna, Indigo, Ochre, Black, Earthy mud, Brick red (Geru).

(Ancient wall painting of Warli shows group of men and womens  dancing around a person playing the music)

# Time which brought a change in warli Art:

In the early 70’s artist Bhaskar Kulkarni came to warli tribe and taught them also how to make their painting more substantial. He taught them to paint on canvases, clothes, paper and other materials and to use paint brushes instead of using twigs to paint, which gave their painting more crisp and firm look. He introduced synthetic colours to their paintings which made it more durable and bright. Instead of using rice paste for colouring he made them use Poster colours and fabric colours. It was a time which brought a change in the World of Warli paintings. In late 70’s it got introduced to society and today The Warlis are well known amongst elite circles for their unique form of decorative art. This big change brought by Bhasker Kulkarni made this art more durable, extraordinary.

Now For their sustenance Warli artists have adapted in modern form of painting and colouring using different mediums. In order to compete with other art materials coming in the market which are produced in bulk at low cost consuming less time, they are adopting modern methods and new themes of painting which will interest their buyers. They paint on canvases what they used to paint on walls before and the method of painting is also different as that of wall painting. In the process of painting a canvas they first make the colour for the base, as their painting has two colours basically for background and for fore ground. For back ground they use Geru (red mud, brown mud), Charcoal and Cow dung. In the process of painting a canvas they use the same colour but they mix it with glue which makes the base more durable.

After applying it on the canvas they leave it for 2-3 hours to get it dry. They iron the painted canvas upside down to remove the folds. For painting the fore ground they use white poster colour mixed with glue instead of using rice paste which has no durability. According to the different medium they follow different methods of paintings.

For painting on cloths they simply use fabric colours. They paint on Sari, Kurta salwars, Dupattas, T-shirts, bags, scarfs etc. In decorative items they paint on clay pots, mugs and other items using permanent colours and dyes.

(Warli Wall Painting of celebration)

(Acrylic canvas warli painting)

(Acrylic canvas 

warli painting

 shows celebration)

   





    

    (Duppata having 

warli painting)

(Warli print mug showing 

farming by warli peoples)

   



  

(Tshirt having

 warli painting)

(warli print bag)

(T-shirt having

 warli painting)

(warli print pot 

showing womens dance)

 # Role of Warli Artisans:

The big attraction at Warli is that the village community of Javhar is involving in making this painting on various articles. According to time and people, medium has changed. Now most of the artists use watercolors and handmade papers or canvas cloth. But they maintain the traditional characteristics and style and themes of paintings although the medium has changed. In order to create a new source of nonagricultural income, different organizations encourage the artists to produce their traditional paintings on handmade paper for commercial sale. This way now it also widely spread and becoming popular and giving hope and happiness to the society. The craftsmen were aware of history of the craft. The method has changed to great extent in order to meet growing demand of the market. The production process has not changed in the number of stages but there is change in the natural ingredients used in different stages. Traditionally this painting was done on mud walls of houses but today it is used on Fashion Apparels like Dresses, Tops, Kurtis, Saris, Bedsheets, Dupattas, T-shirts on Home textiles like Curtains, cusions covers, Pillow covers, Table cloths, Table napkins, Tablemats, Table runners, Doilyset, Bedsheets, filecovers etc. etc. Similarly it is also done on accessories like Stoles, Scarfs, Purses, Evening Bags, Wall hangings, Portraits, Trey, Mobile Stand, Fancy Pots etc. There is no organized market established for them hence they face difficulty in marketing their products. The younger generations have better avenues in learning skill and technical knowledge. They have mostly moved out of the village. Only few less skilled youngsters are pursuing this profession engaging other labourers.

# famous Artist of warli paintings :

• Shri. Jivya Soma Mashe :  He was conferred the Padma Shri in 2011 for his contribution towards Warli painting. He had got the National Award for the Tribal Art in 1976. He also Visited Japan, Canda, Germany, U.S.A. and several other countries to Demonstrate his work. His first exhibition outside India was at the palais de Menton , france in 1976. Pomidou centre, Paris in 1989.

• In 2003 he did a joint exhibition at Musium Kunst Palast in Dusseldrf , Germany. Padiglione d Arfe contemporaneous, Milano, Italy in 2004. Shippensburg university, united states in 2006. Halle Saint Pierre, paris in 2007.

•   Rajesh Chaitya Vangad : he contributed himself to warli and Visited london, Germany, Spain and Japan for Warli painting workshop.

•  Shri. Sadashiv Mashe :He is the son of the renowned Warli artist Jivya Soma Mashe. His pictorial style is rooted in the tradition of Warli, with rhythmic, simplified forms representing the complexities of the world around him. Like his father, Sadashiv has travelled to many countries, including Japan. He continues the tradition of Warli painting along with his brother, Balu Mashe.

•  Shri. Shantaram Ghorakhana: he also contributed a lot for warli art and expands its tressure by travelling to  Japan from 1997 - till 2013 for workshop.

•  Shri. Madhukar vadu : Madhukar Vadu, a Warli artist from a village in Manor near Palghar.he also wrote many books, on tribal tales and about warli culture , paintings and many more also he visited Germany, Spain and Japan,  Shanghai for  workshop.                                                      

 Along with these above artist there were many more who contributed towards warli art and expands its tressure throughout the whole world.

 # Warli Art In Indian Fashion:

Today Warli painting is very popular in fashion. Designers frequently using them to create fashionable saris, shirts, skirts, salwar kameez, shawls, stoles, tunics, kurtas and kurtis. The paintings can be either directly painted on the fabric or printed on to it. Usually clothes with warli paintings are made of materials like raw silk and cotton which hold color easily. The stiffness of raw silk is preferred as it creates the perfect canvas to showcase Warli designs. They are either arranged in bold patterns all over the fabrics or restricted to the border areas.

# Present Day Scenario :

Today Warli paintings have gone much beyond being a simple tribal art. They are considered a sophisticated art form, frequently used to create unique paintings which are sold at very high prices. For the same reason, Warli prints are ubiquitous in fashion and home décor. From designer saris, silk cushion covers and linen bed sheets to mobile covers, purses and jewelry, this art has been adapted for a variety of decorative purposes. Warli paintings can also be easily reproduced using printing techniques which has further increased the customer base for this art. Printed Warli designs, though less authentic, tend to come in more diverse colors and fabrics. Additionally, it is no longer the sole domain of the Warli tribe as artists and designers across the world have utilized this style in their creations.

 # Innovation In Warli Art :

 The increasing demand for Warli paintings in urban centers has led to the art form evolving newer, more diverse styles and varieties. This is especially true when it comes to fashion, where the classic white on red design is not the only option available. Bright colors like neon ,blue, pink, green and red as well as muted shades of purple, beige, green and yellow are increasingly being used in Warli prints. A recent innovation adapted by Warli artists is the depiction of modern, urban motifs like bicycles, auto rickshaws and roads.

 The basic symbols remain the same but the use of modern items creates a very contemporary vibe which appeals to a wider audience.

(Modern, urban motif auto rickshaw)

(Modern urban motif )

# Some Facts About Warli  Art :

•  Warli Art ,painting is handmade painting by tribal people of India. It is a traditional art made by tribal Adivasi people also known as "Warlis ".

• This art was originated in Maharashtra , India .

• The warli tribe is one of largest adivasi tribe located outside of Mumbai in maharashtra.

• Warli art is also known as folk style of painting. It is primarily used for decoration purpose rather than purely aesthetic.

• Originally Warli painting are done by using white pigment made from a mixture of rice paste and water and a bamboo stick is used as a paint brush.

• Warli doesn't associated with contemporary culture, they have their own culture belief, value and norms for  their life. that is why these paintings are mainly done to represent a sense of togetherness.

•  Warli Art revolves around the  nature by giving importance to nature and wildlife.

• These art form symbolizes the balance of the universe.

• Warli art is mostly used by tribal people to decorate their houses similar to ancient people who used to decorate their cave walls using this form of Art.

•  Warli painting use a set of basic geometrical shapes such as circle, triangle, and square which represent nature.

•  The circle and the triangle come from their observation of nature, like they assume circle as the Sun or Moon and the triangles as mountains or the trees.

• Apart from nature Warli painting covers day to day activities of village people. They paint various activities like dancing, playing and performing puja.

• Tarpa dance is one of the central aspect of every Warli paintings. In this both man and women hold their hands and move in circle around the Tarpa players.

• Warli prints and paintings are generally not used on any kind of footwear , As this is an auspicious art form for the tribals.

•  Traditionally this art was exclusively done by women but with commercialization and greater demand, it has become the domain of male artists also.

•  The Warli tribal community  has also set up a not-for-profit organization called the Warli  Art Foundation devoted to promoting this art form. 

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