A display of Shobhana’s stunning patchwork
Twenty years ago I learned the traditional patchwork from an American woman.
The first one took me nine years to finish, because I did a lot by hand and I could not find the matching fabric for the border. Now I work more freely, following the fabrics rather than imposing a pattern on them. Here in Mallorca I don’t find any fabrics I like, so people started giving me old clothes, bits and pieces of leftovers and when I travel, I always look for inspiring pieces to take home.
I like to work in a total mess, throwing everything on the floor and ‘diving into what I do’. Sometimes I have to undo a lot of seams because the composition is not right. It can be frustrating, but in general I am in total bliss.
It comes very close to painting – I love it and it never feels like work to me.
I exhibit the patchworks along with my paintings in our house or in galleries.
Shobhana is a self-taught painter: from 5 years old she had pencils and watercolours in her hands… When she took sannyas in 1978, she was a therapist in Gestalt, Bioenergetic and Transactional Analysis. She has been living with (German) Mani (from RBG) for over 25 years. They now live in Mallorca where Shobhana often exhibits with her daughter Anjali. www.shobhanart.com
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