A Day of Color

Where Rangmanch found its palette

Color does not arrive fully formed. It is worked through. Adjusted. Tested. Seen in light, and then seen again.

By the time we reached this stage, the patterns had already been designed and the wooden blocks carved by block maker, Karan Chipa. What remained was deciding how those patterns would come alive in color.

 

In block printing workshops, color sampling is a process in itself. A full day is set aside for it, with the printing team available to test, adjust, and refine each shade. That was the day we were stepping into. Except, for us, it unfolded across three cities.

Seattle. Virginia. Jaipur.

 

 

Vashita was at the workshop, moving between the printing tables and dye trays. We joined in remotely, staying closely connected as each sample was developed in real time.

We did not begin without direction.

A base color story was already in place. The purpose of the day was not to discover color from scratch, but to refine it within the realities of the craft. Every color was our decision.

A block dipped into dye. Pressed onto fabric. Lifted. Turned toward the camera. Observed. Discussed. Then adjusted.

 

 

The process was guided by Master Ji Ram Babu, whose understanding of how dye behaves on fabric shaped each iteration. Madhu ji, the owner of the production unit, brought perspective as the palette evolved. Vishal Mehta, the Production Lead, managed communication and execution, ensuring every decision moved clearly between us and the workshop floor.

 

 

There was one color we had held on to from the very beginning. Mustard.

It had been part of our palette early on, a tone we were drawn to instinctively. But when we saw it come alive on fabric, within the pattern and alongside the other colors, it did not settle the way we expected.

We tested it again. Softer. Deeper. Warmer. It still did not belong. So we let it go.

That moment defined the day.

 

Because color rarely behaves the way you expect it to. What feels right in isolation can shift once it becomes part of a larger composition. And so the process continued.

Some shades revealed themselves quickly. Others took time. A color set aside earlier returned in a different form and began to make sense. Small adjustments created visible shifts.

“Color, when printed by hand, is not chosen once. It is arrived at slowly.”

By the end of the day, what we had was not just a palette, but a set of decisions shaped through observation, adjustment, and trust in the process.