Handicrafts in safe hands

To win first place for two consecutive years at a national competition involving an intricate art form is not an easy task. This, is the proud achievement of Saumyamalee Basnayake, a talented machine embroidery artist. Her prize-winning entries were exhibited at the recent Shilpa arts exhibition organised by the National Crafts Council.

Her award-winning entry this year was a copy of a mural from the Kelaniya Raja Maha Vihara depicting God Saman inviting the Buddha to visit Samanala Kanda.

Visitors were amazed at Saumyamalee's painstaking creation which from a distance looked like a painting. It was only at closeup that one realised the intricate workmanship and the hardwork she had put in. She had first taken a photograph and got a digital print to the actual size. Then painstakingly she had copied it on to an organdy base using six layers of organdy and a layer of 'amu redi'. "It took me six months to complete,” she said. Saumyamalee had learnt the basics of embroidery from her mother. Her last year's entry was also a mural from the Kelaniya temple depicting the arrival of Bhikkuni Sanghamitta.

Saumyamalee is just one of many craftsmen and women who believe in turning out quality products. In contrast to heaps of materials in the stalls outside the Sirimavo Bandaranaike Exhibition Centre which had been churned out purely for commercial purposes, the exhibition items were of high quality.

This year's Presidential Award winner (the overall winner among all the 16 categories), Dias Weerasinghe from Piliyandala had carved the Gal Vihara Seated Buddha, on wood to perfection. Equally interesting was the work titled 'Self-mortification' by K. A. Ariyawansa from Kegalle, the winner in the category of handicrafts using metal.

In the cane handicrafts category, the winning exhibit was a lovely little lockable 'pettagama' created by Vasantha Jayasekera from Buttala using bamboo.

'King Brahmadatta', an intricate creation by S. Lionel Chandrasiri from Wandurambe was the winner of the Festival & Performing Arts category.

Drums formed the bulk of the presentations in the musical instruments category while the categories of clay work, textiles, lacquer work were also well represented. To find craftsmen at work in the lobby was a bonus to the visitors who got a glimpse of how various items are created.

The exhibition was ample proof that Sri Lanka's handicrafts continue to be in safe hands with the support and guidance of the National Crafts Council functioning under the Ministry of Rural Industries & Self Employment Promotion.