A cluster is defined as a geographic concentration (a city/town/few adjacent village and their adjoining areas) of units producing near similar products and facing common opportunities and threats. An artisan cluster is defined as geographically concentrated (mostly in villages/townships) household units producing handicraft/handloom products. In a typical cluster, such producers often belong to a traditional community, producing the long-established products for generations. Indeed, many artisan clusters are centuries old Artisan.
About Amravati Cluster:-
Amravati Cluster falls under Maharashtra State in Nagpur district.
The Amravati cluster is able to form 240 plus Artisans & 20 SHGs supporting the strong work force. The mobilization gains momentum day by day. Amravati Cluster is famous for Jewellery, Carpet and Metal Ware.
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Jewellery:-
Considering the exorbitant cost of gold, silver and allied precious stones, the fancy for jewellery made from bones and horns has gained popularity not just in parts of Uttar Pradesh but abroad too."Earlier, the demand was not this much but now we are having export orders and we are doing our level best to fulfill the demand of order," said Bhuvesh Kumar, an artist of bonejewellery. These indigenous craftsmen have inherited the skills of making varieties of bone items and accessories including jewellery from their ancestors.
"People used to make combs of horns and bones before independence. From that time only, artists used to do the work of carving and legacy of this art have passed to generations," said, Rajeev Gupta, an exporter of bonejewellery, Murdabad. The bone bangles come in a wide rang of designs and a variety of colours to match the varied individual tastes and choices.
Available in different colours, the bone jewellery maintains a demand among the college-goers in abroad.The jewellery is coloured in different hues and combinations which fascinates customers in foreign lands. "We have got handful benefits due to the wide range of our colourful jewellery made out of bones and horns of animals. Whatever kind of jewellery we make, we easily colour it in different shades. Different colour combinations attract international clients. They buy these jewelleries to match their dress," said Manoj, a bonejewellery maker. (ANI)
Raw Materials:-
The basic raw materials use in making jewellery articles are-
Basic Materials:- Items from shell, lac, conch shell, iron or copper bangles, silver brass, base metal, floral jewellery, silver, brass, gold, khar or navsagar, coal, wax, kerosene lamp, aluminum metals, wooden moulds, hammer, mallets, chisel, scrapper, scriber, wire scissors, iron & bronze dye colonial beads, coral pearls silk thread, beads, polish.
Decorative Materials: - Glass beads, metal beads and black beads
Colouring Materials: - Sodium sulphate, alum salt, sulphuric acid, colors, glue, varnish, enamel colors.
Process:-
The instant invention contemplates a process for manufacturing jewelry including the steps of:
(a) Creating a photographic negative from a computer-generated image;
(b) Masking the negative over a photopolymerizable resin backed by a rigid substrate;
(c) Irradiating the unmasked resin with ultraviolet radiation;
(d) Removing the unpolymerized resin from the photopolymer, using a washing agent such as water, resulting in a positive three-dimensional likeness
of the object to be cast;
(e) placing the resulting etched resin plate into a container and pouring tooling resin into the container thereby creating a plug bearing the negative
impression of the jewelry item to be created;
(f) inserting the tooling resin plug into a jewelry item mold having an empty sleeve which receives the plug resulting in a completed jewelry mold;
(g) Filling the completed mold with plastic resulting in a plastic model of the jewelry item to be created;
(h) Using the plastic model in a "lost wax" casting process to create an individual jewelry item.
Techniques:-
Reticulation is a process by which metal is made to draw itself into ridges and valleys, creating a unique texture. Sterling silver or reticulation silver is heated many times to just below its melting point, then finally more heat is applied which causes the fine silver on the surface to move and twist. Fusingin this process silver or gold are joined together with heat by allowing touching surfaces to melt and therefore fuse. No solder is used. Mokume-gane In Japanese, mokume-gane means wood grain metal. Alternating layers of sterling silver and copper or sterling silver and 22ct gold are bonded together. Patterns are produced by bumping up or gouging the surface and then filed to reveal the pattern. The random pattern layers have a solid stg silver backing. No two pieces are ever exactly alike Titanium Colour on titanium can be produced by an oxide layer that forms when the metal is anodised at a specific voltage level. These layers refract light differently - an effect that reaches the eyes in a rainbow of colours. It is a richly colourful form of patination. Shibuichi this is an alloy consisting of fine silver and copper. The first known use of this alloy was during the Han Dynasty in China. Koru this designs is inspired by the traditional Maori symbol of growth and life. It depicts a young fern. It represents peace, harmony and new beginnings.
Carpet:-
Maharashtra is traditionally well-known for fine-quality hand-knotted woolen carpets. There are many main centre for this craft. It is also found in smaller towns like Tonk, Chaksu, Manaharpura, and Barmer. Some of the motifs used are little rosettes of Indo-Heratic origin; the colors found are blue, red, and purplish-tints in combination. The other combination is light green and deep blue. The border motifs include bold flowers and long serrated leaves.
There is a move to revive traditional designs like dushala, charkona, mehrab and shikar. Otherwise the designs are slanted towards the Indo-Persian. The carpet in Indo-Kerman design has ivory or cream as the background color with floral design all over or in the centre. Complex carpets, requiring 400 to 600 knots per inch, are not woven any more; simple carpets with counts of 16 to 36 knots are being woven. Rajasthan has a strong wool base as it controls 50 per cent of total wool production in India and there is enormous scope for disseminating this craft in rural areas.
Carpet weaving calls for a high degree of skill and dexterity and is generally done by the Monpa women in West Kameng and the tribes of North Siang district. Carpets are woven in bright colors with predominantly Tibetan motifs such as the dragon or geometric and floral designs, reflecting the Tibetan-Buddhist influence in the area. Wool colors were originally obtained using vegetable and other natural dye sources, although synthetic dyes and chemicals are now commonly used.
Carpet consists of dyed pile yarns; a primary backing in which the yarns are sewn; a secondary backing that adds strength to the carpet; adhesive that binds the primary and secondary backings; and, in most cases, a cushion laid underneath the carpet to give it a softer, more luxurious feel. Both the primary and secondary backing are largely made of woven or no woven polypropylene, though some secondary backing may still be made of jute, a natural fiber that, when woven, looks like burlap. The adhesive used to bind the backings together is almost universally synthetic rubber latex. The most common padding is rebounds (bonded urethane), though various forms of synthetic latex, polyurethane, or vinyl might be used instead. Rebound is recycled scrap urethane that is chopped into uniformly sized pieces and pressed into layers. Although rare, some carpet cushioning is made up of horse hair or jute. A plastic top sheet is usually added to the top to insure a smooth surface against the carpet.
Bunch of loose strands of fibers called staples are used to make carpets initially. The staples are put into a hopper where they're heated, lubricated and formed into slivers, which are wound into a long spool of fiber. From there, the carpet-making process is ready to begin.
A needle pushes the carpet fibers through the underside of a piece of fabric called the carpet backing. A hook called a looper holds the fibers in place as the needle goes back down into the backing, forming the loop. It sounds a bit tedious, and it must have been before the advent of automated tufting machines. If the carpet is supposed to be tufted, then the actual creation process ends here. If cut pile carpet is being manufactured, however, then the tufted carpet goes through an additional step where the loopers holding the individual pile strands are pulled over sharp knives. This cuts the loops into the individual strands that make up a cut pile carpet. The coloring process may take place at different stages in production, depending on the desired visual effect. Another method, continuous dyeing, rolls and sprays dyes onto finished carpet. Still another, pre-dyeing, takes place before the carpet is processed. Once the carpet is finished, it's washed, dried and vacuumed. Errant piles are trimmed and then it's sent on a conveyor belt past a final employee who uses a pile gun to fill in any overlooked bare areas. The carpet is now finished.
Vertical plain colored threads, stretched from loom beam to loom beam on which knots are tied. Horizontal plain colored thread, which runs across the width of the rug, over and under the warp strings and between each row of knots. Weft helps hold rows of knots in place and strengthen the structure.Different colors are used in knotting in accordance with the pattern. Throughout the world there are many different knotting techniques, the double or gordes or symmetrical knotting is used by the Turks and is also known as the Turkish knot. In this technique each knot is looped around two different warps, both ends are pulled down and cut. The other common knotting technique is used in Iran, China and Afghanistan and is called the non-symmetrical or single knot or Persian knot, where one end of the knot is looped around one warp and the other end comes straight, both ends are pulled and cut.
Metal Ware:-
Maharashtra is the famous for its brass and copper making region in the world with thousands of establishments spread all over for articles made out of one or more pieces of metal.The copper or brass sheet is first marked out by a pair of compass and the piece or pieces cut off by a scissor called katari. The required shape is made by alternate heating and hammering, and is finally turned on the lathe. The final polish to the article is given on the lathe itself.
Metal ornaments have been a rave in all ages and times. The attractive contrasts in colours and textures of metals has led to the evolution of metal ornamentation through techniques like inlay, overlay, applique, fixing of colours etc.
The princely states of India demanded not only enamelled jewellery but also enamelled utensils such as wine-cups, finger-bowls, pill boxes etc. , in both gold and silver repousse, sometimes studded with jewels.The craftspersons of India excel in this art. With the evolution of new tools,techniques and skills, they are now better equipped to cater to modern tastes.Fully geared to meet modern market demands, today the gold and silver plated articles produced are usually plain or even when ornamented are devoid of extensive encrustation.Portions of silver articles are sometimes covered with water.
In India, Brass and Copper are used for making various usable objects since ancient time. It has a rich tradition of making metal objects which are used for both religious and secular purposes. A wide variety of objects include standing lamps, aarathi (votive lamps), deepalakshmis, hand lamps and chain lamps. Shallow dishes circular, hexagonal, octagonal and oval shapes are widely used and are made out of bronze or sheet brass. The popular Thanjavur plates are characterized by designs of deities, birds, flowers, and geometric patterns beaten out from the back of copper and silver sheets and subsequently encrusted on a brass tray, kudam or panchpaathra. Metal toys are also popular and are sold at various gift outlets in various towns and cities of the state.
The craftsmen cast their own pieces, making moulding clay from sand, resin and oil in proportion (20:2:1) and add borax to the clay surface to prevent the metal sticking.The alloy, the darkened zinc used as base is described as nine to sixteen part of zinc to one of copper, is melted and poured into the moulds and solidified.
The surface of the rough cast of the articles is filed and smoothened with sand paper and then rubbed with a solution of copper sulphate to impart a dark surface to provide a suitable base for the next stage of tracing the design and engraving.
To engrave the design, wax from honeycomb and Raal a bonding agent is used. This solution is spread on a flat stone and the article to be engraved is fixed on it. The design is traced by hand, with the help of chisels and pure silver wire of 95% purity is inlaid in the grooves to form designs. There are five different types of tools used for engraving.
In the ultimate interesting stage, the articles are heated gently and treated with a solution of sal-ammoniac and earth taken from old fort buildings, which has the effect of making the entire surface turn jet black providing a distinct contrast to the shining silver inlay.
It is this contrast that lends Bidri a uniqueness that no other metal ware could possibly claim. Finally, oil is rubbed on the piece to deepen the black matt coating. The entire process is done by hand hence, is time consuming.
The techniques of metalworking follow the same principles, whether the scale of design is industrial or sculptural, or even at the tiny scale of a ring or a pair of earrings. Furthermore, many of the basic techniques also relate to work in other media.
Applique:- The technique of creating a design by soldering or granulating cut-out shapes of sheet metal to another metal surface.
Casting:- The process of shaping a molten metal by means of a mold.
Chasing:- A technique for surface embellishing of metal accomplished by driving pointed tools into the metal.
Enameling:- The fusing of a glassy substance onto metal. Enamels are combinations of flux and metal oxides (for color). Cloisonne is one of the
better known enamel techniques.
Repousee:- A technique of pushing metal out from its reverse side using hammers and punches in order to create a low relief design on the front.
How to Reach:-
By Air:-
The domestic airport called “Sonegaon airport” is only 6 km away from the city centre.
By Road:-
The city is also connected to most major cities by road. Regular S.T. bus services connect Amravati with Nagpur, Wardha, Akola and other cities
By Train:-
Amravati is an important station on the Central Railway line, 673 Kms from Mumbai. You can get direct trains from Mumbai, Wardha and Nagpur.