PATCHWORK PUZZLE

Qurama, patchwork and quilting all use scraps of fabric and have their roots in the distant past. Some researchers date the beginnings of this domestic activity to the ninth century, while others think that in fact it goes back much further. Whatever the case, "scrap techniques" are a form of applied art that is in great demand today.

A world of patches 

In the traditions of many peoples of Europe, Asia and America, this very practical invention was linked with the poverty of large parts of the population, which used it in an attempt to make ends meet. And of course, it doesn't take much to guess that it was women who invented this technique of sewing with scraps of fabric. Women, who have to clothe their husbands and children, came up with this very economical and sensible activity: creating something new - household items such as blankets, covers, bags, cushions and curtains - from pieces of old, worn-out clothes. Many researchers tend to think that this method was first used by English women who sewed clothes from small pieces of leather. Others say that this craft emerged in the East and was well-known in China and Japan many millennia ago… However, that's for the researchers to discover - to delve in fantastic detail into the history of the emergence and spread of this handicraft across the planet and into the distinguishing national characteristics at the basis of each design. It's not surprising that everything should look quite different in Africa, Japan and ancient Rus. But they all have some elements in common. For example, practically all techniques have geometric designs: squares, circles, rectangles, triangles etc. Slavic women stretched scraps of fabric into what were known as "wells", small scraps folded into a triangular shape, sewed them together and made them into a square. On the Hawaiian Islands they made them into a "pineapple". We use this technique too in Azerbaijan. It is curious that the technique to make "hot" batik, a traditional craft in Azerbaijan, is similar to the one used in Hawaii. In North America, the wives of the settlers "invented" the beautiful technique of making patchwork quilts from scraps of fabric. Initially it was simply a question of wanting to improve their homes aesthetically, to decorate a quite poor space with colour, but then became a tradition: when a girl got married, women (not necessarily related!) would get together and sew the marital quilt. Every scrap of fabric had its own love story which was expressed through the imagination of each of the participants. In some places this tradition continues today. 

Azerbaijan's patchwork art - qurama - also has its roots in the distant past. Our craftswomen who enjoy this type of applied art turn their attention to quilts, pot holders, bolsters, simple cushions, men's headgear - araqcin or skullcaps - now even covers for mobile phones, make-up bags, waistcoats, tablecloths, napkins and much else besides. 

Xadija Nasirova has a Ph.D in chemistry. She is a senior researcher in the Institute for Radiation Problems at the Azerbaijani Academy of Sciences. She was born and grew up in Baku, to be more precise, in the Old City. As a child she liked to make up her own clothes and was able to create something original from her own wardrobe which amazed her girlfriends and family. But she does not remember dreaming of artistic creativity as a child. She grew up like all the other children in her large family. She loved to go for milk in the very early morning and with the other women of the family to be involved in all the preparations for the Novruz holiday… She can still close her eyes and see images of that happy childhood when everyone was still fit and well: grandmother, mother, sisters… And she was a little girl, the pride of her family who said that she had something special about her. Of all the holidays she loved Novruz the most. The aroma of baking filled the narrow streets and alleys of the Icari Sahar or Old City and everyone knew in whose homes bakhlava and sakarbura had been baked that day. Xadica was the most deft and inventive of all the girls. All her extended family appreciated her special occasion sakarbura with their unusual design on top, which even received the highest praise from her grandmother Begum. Of course, her sisters envied her! A word of praise from Grandmother was akin to the highest acknowledgement of quality. It was more than a top mark at school, more important than exam success. It smacked of the sacred: the matriarch of the extended family raised a little girl to the heights of recognition in the eyes of the other women. This was worth a great deal and was very significant! From that time on, Xadica was in demand in all the homes of her relatives to help with the pre-holiday baking. There were plenty of relatives so grandmother drew up a rota for this holy baking ritual. Of course, as a child she probably saw various patchwork items in her relatives' homes, but paid no attention to them. She and her sisters even thought that they were rather hopeless, outdated, country items, not fashionable or modern, like Grand-mother herself who when she left the house always swathed herself in a chador. Grandfather criticized her for it so in order not to annoy him Grandmother would put it on in the street, around the corner from the house. Grandma Begum did not understand what worried her husband - what chador could a woman wear who lived in the bright, happy Soviet Union? This could have caused problems.

Salvation in quilting

Xadica's whole house is now qurama in all its varied forms, which produces an extraordinary, almost indescribable impression. You have to see this beauty for yourself. She has succeeded in creating a riot of colour with unexpected compositions and an amalgamation of various techniques. Why did she suddenly take this up?  There's no answer. It all happened of its own accord. But the events leading up to it are sad. It happened in the terrible days of January 1990. She could not get her head round what she saw on the street, what happened in a city in an enormous country. She did not understand why blood was being shed and innocent people were dying. The world seemed to have collapsed and emptiness had come knocking: striking at the heart, at life, punching her in the face. So much pain! And Xadica xanim fell silent. She simply stopped talking. Her mother and sister, whom she was very close to throughout her life, saw her crushed, in some kind of depression, and did not bother her with chit-chat and questions. For some time she just lived beside them. She remembered visiting her mother in hospital and seeing a village woman tucking in her daughter with a colourful sheet. She was amazed at the delicate decoration. It was a real work of art! She asked, "What's that?" and heard the reply "Qurama". The image resurfaced in her memory unexpectedly! And this was just what she needed in her despair. So when she suddenly brought a huge pile of scraps of fabric into the room, tipped them onto the table and asked, "Where are the scissors?", no-one asked any questions. They just brought the scissors and put them next to the scraps. Xadica began to sew small pieces of cloth: red, black, red, black. Like someone possessed, she did not leave her work day or night. After that cloth, other works came thick and fast. And eventually the deadening emptiness disappeared. Life acquired colour again and purpose. Now she cannot imagine herself without qurama. In this decorative art are life, creativity, purpose and the happiness of finding oneself. Every last space in the artist's flat is taken up with qurama: Viennese chairs, armchairs, the settee, the walls. Elcin Mammadov was the first person who saw the artist's work. Popping in to his relatives for a glass of tea on a hot summer's day, he caught Xadica at her favourite work and was delighted by her creations. She took this delight and praise as kindness from a famous artist. But when Tahir Salahov also praised her work, she began to look at it herself with different eyes. She thought that perhaps there was something in them if such artists thought so highly of them. Since 1997 she has been a member of the International Artists' Federation, the professional creative union of artists of Russia, and a member of the Azerbaijani Artists' Union. And it is worth saying how much of the artist's work graces collections in England, France, Germany, Poland, Norway, Turkey, the USA and Russia! She has taken part in numerous exhibitions since 1998 which to her are basically a way to promote the country and this folk art which reflects the outlook of a peace-loving people. Xadica Nasi-rova is just a small part of it, like the molecule of an atom. And she felt this especially acutely in those dark January days.

Without any rules

Patchwork is laborious and time-consuming. The artist does not work from patterns. The whole design forms in her head, behind her third eye! Then the design gains the details of composition. She thinks that what is most important is to find the centre of the composition, the point that gathers everything else around it and focuses attention. It can be a buta (teardrop shape) or an eye or a sunflower, the bud of a wild flower or some kind of flourish. Her patchwork pictures do not have a specific subject, she is more abstract. She intuitively achieves harmony of colour. Sometimes she has to hear criticism of this. Why? Don't the feelings that spill out into the world through this patchwork have their own colour? Can they be classified according to some rules? I don't think so. But she lifts spirits, delights the eye and satisfies our need for beauty. You want to wear her waistcoats and skull caps, to use her tablecloths, panels, bolsters and much else. You want to possess it all and enjoy the touch of the exquisite art of qurama. 

Recently, Xadica Nasirova has been working on quilt designs for small children. She thinks that there is nothing more important than the cultural experience which a child receives in the cradle. A quilt created as a work of art will certainly help a child to perceive the world as a skilful creation and maybe to perceive it better and more finely. She is sure that beauty should be a constant companion from the cradle. So every square that she designs on this quilt is a short story. And what that story is is decided by the child who owns this treasure. The scope for fantasy is huge! Sometimes, the search for the right piece of fabric - in terms of colour, texture and pattern - can take a month or more. But until she finds the right element for her design, the artist will not progress a centimetre in her work. However, judging from the interest that I saw, there is a demand for this type of art: we are beginning to understand that our children need our fairytales. And the fairytale hidden in the patchwork puzzle is much more interesting than any other that may be superficially attractive but have a foreign soul.

Will artist Xadica Nasirova ever become so famous that as many people as possible around the world discover the soul of our people? We wholeheartedly wish her well. May she find light and creative happiness. She is not one of those socialite, pretentious professionals who, when their latest private exhibition does not produce the desired effect, blame everyone and everything. No, she simply does the work that fills her heart and has to do it. What dyes! What colours! What work! It would be marvellous if applied artists had exhibitions as often as possible. They are bearers of a culture that we can describe with pride as national and distinctive. They are representatives of a unique type of art, which can talk about an entire people more vividly, forcefully and actively than any work of literature, even the very best! But such modest people, dedicated to their work and their country, are always overlooked. They are immersed in creativity so they have no time to push their way through and glorify themselves. We have so many of them, so much talent, so many nuggets of gold! But for some reason there is never any time for them… Why is that?