Sri Lankan crafts

Just back from Sri Lanka after an 11.5 hour flight that left Colombo at 5am, only to find that there’s been a leak in the house while I’ve been away, with wallpaper peeling off the ceiling. 😦

Never mind – even that can’t take the gloss off the amazing craft experience I’ve had in Sri Lanka. The last hotel I stayed at was actually in the middle of setting up a craft centre, with weavers, basket makers, lace makers, woodcarvers and mask painters all giving demonstrations and even letting me have a go. As part of my assignment I interviewed a few of them and will post some of these later.

Also, shops like Barefoot have a fantastic selection of goods, from colourful handloom and embroidery work to contemporary batik designs, ceramics and carving. I came back with a bulging suitcase and had to buy another bag to hold everything!

I’ll post more details over the next week or so, but the photo above shows a few of the items: two cushion covers (one an example of Dumbara weaving, the other embroidered) and a couple of purses woven from indikola, a kind of palm.