Dimapur, Oct. 27 (EMN): Unlike cross-stitch, which follows a basic X stitch pattern, ’embroidery’ gives you the freedom to express and explore your creativity. Vesolu Luruo, an embroidery artist based in Hyderabad, shared this sentiment to Eastern Mirror.
Famed for ‘the lady in her Naga traditional attire with a Naga basket’ embroidery work, Luruo, who is a mother of two boys, said that she started embroidery in 2014.
“From the first time I tried it till now, I have been completely absorbed and fascinated at how one can create or design using just few simple basic stitches. It is a slow, progressing work, which involves time and patience; but that is what I have come to love about this art. It has allowed me to slow down and helped find beauty in things around me,” she shared.
Luruo said: “I was praying for something to do at home after marriage, and before the boys came along. It all started with an impromptu trip to this tiny thread shop in the neighbourhood. With a big needle and sewing thread in my hands, I started exploring video tutorials on YouTube which was followed by a lot of ‘pinning’ on Pinterest. I remember practising on our cushion covers to begin with. In fact, my first few sales were made through cushion covers.”
According to Luruo, her passion for embroidery comes from her mother. “She always wanted us, the daughters, to learn the art of cross-stitching, knitting and sewing. I must have been in fourth standard when she first taught me how to cross-stitch, a simple counted pattern on my handkerchief. However, I gave up after finishing two more pieces. I shifted to knitting instead, and actually knitted quite a few,” she recounted.
“Embroidery is something I picked up after I got married, but my love for yarns, threads and needlework is clearly something I acquired from my mother,” she added.
Luruo, who has had no formal training, said that ‘embroidery continues to rise’ and has received much enthusiasm from various artists.
On the recognition she has received on social media, she said: “I must confess that I am enjoying the appreciation people have showered on my works recently. Even friends and relatives living in villages called up to encourage me. It all started with my sister uploading some of my works on her Instagram account sometime in March this year just to encourage me.
“The response was kind of overwhelming for me. My works gradually got featured in various Instagram and Pinterest stories and posts, including some accounts of foreign nationals. I started getting more orders. Since then, I have been stitching my fingers away.”
Although she has limited designs, she recently started retailing some of her works at Fusion Store in Dimapur. “Temsusenla Kichu, proprietor of Fusion Store, was kind enough to offer me a space for which I am very grateful. But mostly, people approach me for orders via Instagram or WhatsApp accounts. I upload my samples and works on Instagram and they select what to order from there,” she said.
Luruo said she works mostly on cotton fabric and does not follow any specific technique. She mainly uses the basic stitching techniques that she knows; such as split-stitch and stem-stitch. However, she said she also loves to improvise with her own unnamed styles. “The needle is handled like you would a pen or a pencil or a paint brush, for that matter. And that’s the best thing about hand embroidery; it gives you the freedom to use and follow your imagination just like any other creative art.”
According to Luruo, she gets her inspiration and technical help from various social media platforms.
‘The lady in her Naga traditional attire with a Naga basket pattern’, she says, will always hold a special place in her heart. She narrates: “My husband would often encourage me with these words, ‘create something unique, something which is not common or explored by others, something which you can claim it as your own. You know what? There is a kind of cultural revival going on amongst our people. So explore cultural themes.’ It always gives me immense pleasure to be creating and recreating this theme that symbolises my identity and creativity.”
As a mother of two young boys, it is not easy to focus on work, she confessed; adding that she schedules her time on a daily basis for each project and tries to stick to that schedule.
According to Luruo, her husband is her main motivator. “I just couldn’t have come this far without him; he is the one who has ignited my love for art; he is always there to lift my heart up even when I hit some of those emotionally low moments. He takes interest in my works and is my best art critic. He keeps pushing me to improve, or redo a mistake and never to compromise with my mistakes or limitations.”
