I was given this great opportunity to photograph Surayia at her home in Dhaka yesterday. Surayia does not now design these, nor is involved with the “production work” but is still very much revered by the women who are continuing what she started. Some of the women were at Surayia’s home too. I was then taken by Surayia’s daughter to photograph some of the beautiful tapestries and embroidery pieces which have been collected by people in Dhaka. There are not many around, and these works of art are really precious. Not just because these wont be made anymore, but because there is something so special about Surayi’as work and designs. Some are from traditional folk stories, but many are from her free imagination. She told me of some of these and the many many stories about her life from when she was a little girl to her present life. Of what influenced her work and how she would be shocked at the attitude of people who told her that she charged too little for her work! She knew, way back, that she had a special talent for art. That her visions and ideas, which she then translated into her works of embroidery were special.
Read more at my blog and at the Plays With Needles blog by Susan Elliott
Read more at my blog and at the Plays With Needles blog by Susan Elliott
