Ena de Silva. A mischievous rebel in the art of batik

 

The Sri Lankan artist Ena de Silva (1922-2015) re-established her country's batik industry. She has been described as a playful and mischievous rebel and the epitome of beauty, class and elegance. In the 1980's she spent two years as a Commonwealth consultant on handicrafts in the British Virgin Islands. 

She set up a rudimentary workshop and taught a number of young ladies the art of batik. Towards the end of her assignment she staged a spectacular fashion show. My studio was based in the British Virgin Islands at the time and my only involvement with her project was to capture her models and creations on stage...  

and behind the scenes...

Although Ena visited my studio on a number of occasions, at the time I had no interest in batik and I missed an opportunity of learning the art from one of the world's experts. If I could turn the clock back it I would spend every minute in her workshop. 

It was the same when I spent months anchored below Randolph Johnson's studio in the Bahamas. At the time I had no interest in sculpture. More recently the head of a famous French family of handmade paper makers visited my studio. That was just before my interested in paper making. Thus, another golden opportunity to learn from a master was lost. And I grieve at the number of potential models I have lost through not daring to ask.

This is not to say that I was idling my time away in those far off years in the BVI. Apart from building a house and studio I was developing my skills at rapidly sketching figures. At the time I thought I was getting nowhere, but in retrospect I now realise that I had gone beyond where I thought I should be. The sketch below dates from that period. 

I wish I could add that the seeds Ena de Silva planted during her tenure on the island took root. But as far as I am aware, the initiative faded soon after her departure.