Birds, bugs and first forest

Medha Bhatt brings to CCTN Bazaar 2019, forests and its creatures that she has recreated with scraps of discarded fabric

Medha Bhatt shares a sweet story. A grandfather sent a wall-hanging of a banana plantation with crows in it to his granddaughter who lives in the US and she was over the moon! He sent Medha a picture of the little girl jumping with joy in front of a red, yellow and shades-of-green wall hanging — a piece of that little girl’s home back in Kerala. “I am happiest when my clients send me pictures like this,” smiles the founder of the art studio First Forest.

Medha’s stunning work is, perhaps, the best example of Wealth from Waste. “Much of my fabric is tailor discards. Even old clothes. Many families know that I work with them so they give them to me. Even faded fabrics work beautifully to add shades to my birds’ plumage. I sketch the bird, then cut it into its different parts, then reassemble the parts like a jigsaw and then stitch them together. I have a team of six who hem them together. Once it is hemmed, I step in and do the embroidery, where the feathers merge, or where the bird needs an extra streak (like the Indian Pita does), its eyebrows and so on. Often I recreate memories for my clients. A special walk in the forest, a favourite bird, bugs… They sometimes give an old sari or a dupatta that is too precious to discard and I work that into my creation.”

Birds, bugs and first forest

She is no birder, but loves watching birds in the forests, says Medha. “I use themes to make people see the beauty of Nature.” She sounds excited as she recalls walks in the forest. “I tag along with my birdwatcher friends. The experience is amazing. I see the forest floor and I want to recreate that. There is no limit. While they take photographs, I sit with my sketchbook and colour pencils.” It is important to add here that Medha’s birds are not just generic — they are anatomically as close to the real thing as possible. “I am happiest when birders identify the birds in my work. It means I am not too far off the mark!” She has something similar for bug lovers too.

Medha has bags, wall hangings, cushion covers, coin purses and sets of spectacular prints of the birds she has created (Singers, Pest Controllers, Aeronauts and Dabblers). These are in A4-sized prints in sets of four to six. “I have brought along the birds of Coimbatore,” she smiles. “Crested Goshawk, Stork-billed Kingfisher, Red-necked Falcon…”

It is hard work and tedious, agrees Medha, but is exciting. “ I do a lot of homework. I make a shortlist from the Internet and then sketch thebirds, beg my birder friends to send me pictures, read up on them and then find the right scraps of fabric to recreate them.” The crucial part, she says, is finding the right kind of fabric. “A scrap I use up now may not be available to recreate the same bird.” So if you posses any of Medha’s work, know that it may be the only one of its kind and hold on to it for dear life!

Working with minuscule pieces of cloth is challenging, says Medha. “It is limiting, yet so liberating. I have had amazing results that I did not expect with these scraps.”

Birds, bugs and first forest

While her cushion covers and bags are very popular, it is the wall hangings that give Medha a creative high. “It gives me more space to work with. I love recreating the birds, but I love them more when I can do it with them in their natural home: the forest. I love to stitch on the lilies, the ponds, the creepers, the grasses…These are the images I carry in my head of what I see in forests. A wall hanging allows me to reimagine the entire environment.”

When she starts one of her wall hangings, she says, even she does not know what the end result will be. “I can only show my clients my sketch. I have no idea how the designs and colours will evolve. I like to surprise them and myself. My clients have to trust me.”

Her first ever bird creation? “I had accompanied my friends into the forest and I heard the Whistling School Boy (the Whistling Thrush), then I saw the bird and immediately wondered if I could make it with cloth and I did! When I overheard my birding friends lamenting the dwindling birds and shrinking habitats, I realised may be (in a very very small way) I am contributing to saving the planet. I hope there is a message that my work conveys.”

Today, at Suguna Kalyana Mandapam from 10.00 am to 8.00 pm. Please bring your own shopping bags

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