Storytelling with Saris workshops will take place in February 2025 in Bangladesh.  The workshops will include sari printing, letter writing to the government, new song creation, and performance.

Please come to the unveiling of Monica Jahan Bose’s first ceramic sari, called “Rising,” which will be installed in the Kalorama Triangle alley behind her studio. The ceramic tile mural will be mounted on the garage wall of the home of Mary Miller and Dennis Farley, and we are grateful to them for hosting this work. We will have an unveiling celebration on March 9 from 3-5 pm in the alley behind 2015 and 2017 Belmont Rd, NW. Monica’s studio will also be open and there will be a film screening of the performances that inspired the “Rising” ceramic work.

“Rising” speaks to our connection as humans with the outdoor environment, including the water, the trees, and other species.  It is designed with ceramic tiles using the same techniques and design concepts as the Storytelling with Saris saris.  As in the fabric saris, the border tiles feature woodblock patterns. The tiles were rolled out by hand out of reclaimed clay.  Monica pressed her sari woodblocks into the wet clay to create impressions. These border tiles were then handpainted using wax resist technique.  The middle tiles of the sari comprise a figurative painting that Monica painted by hand using glazes.

Monica worked with ceramic artist and fabricator Elle Brande of Moonlight Studios in Beltsville, Maryland to create the work over the course of several months.   Monica and Elle were colleagues at Red Dirt Studio many years ago and Elle assisted Monica in some of her very first performances with saris.  We are thrilled to share this brand new work with the community. This work was self-funded and not supported by any grant.  It serves as a small-scale prototype for future commissions.