74-Year-Old Sneha Sheth Brings Indian Tapestry to Life with Her Hand Embroidery

India is a land of intricate art forms and beautiful tapestries, two artistic things, one created by humans and one by nature. What if both these creations are combined? It would create something magical, right? This magic is created by a 74-year-old artist who paints magic, or rather I would say, embroiders magic on a piece of cloth along with her group of ‘Karigars.’ 

Sneha Sheth, a resident of Mumbai loved art and painted since her childhood. After following her hobby for a good 15 years she realised she was allergic to oil and acrylic paint due to the fumes released from them. When she was diagnosed with asthma, she had to leave painting and take up teaching as her career option. Gradually, life happened and she got married. After her marriage, she discontinued teaching and had a little spare time. To kill the boredom she started making quilts. “Back in the 70s, very few people used to do patchwork quilts so I took that up and started practising it,” says Sneha in an interview with Local Samosa at her exclusive art preview. Along with occasional quilting, she moved to the farms and learnt about silk farming. “This captivated me, so I learned about sericulture and started practising it. After doing it for a while my health started giving up, hence I decided to take up something that requires less mobility,” adds the artist.

Her childhood passion required little mobility, so in 2007, she began designing for her daughter’s clothing venture. After assisting in the business for a few years, Sneha decided to embark on her own journey—this time with a greater purpose. She transitioned entirely from clothing to tapestry embroidery.For those unfamiliar, tapestry is created by stitching interlocking rows of thread or wool onto an open-weave canvas. But this wasn’t the only bold step she took; her efforts were driven by a mission to support artisans who have dedicated years to this intricate craft but remain overshadowed.

“You see, Indian art forms are rare and delicate, requiring skilled artists to bring them to life. These artisans spend years perfecting their craft to preserve it in this digital age, yet they are often underpaid and underrecognized,” says Sheth, explaining the core mission behind her venture.

She brought together artists from West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh who had previously worked on her daughter's venture, embarking on a new journey into tapestry. Sneha specifically chose artisans from these regions because, despite their exceptional skills, they struggled to earn a decent living or gain recognition. As Sneha wasn’t a professional embroidery artist, and the artisans were experienced only in lighter work like border or cufflink embroidery, adapting to the intricate and organized style of tapestry proved challenging. Through a collaborative process of teaching and learning, they gradually synchronized their efforts, creating breathtaking masterpieces over the years.

These masterpieces are now part of a beautiful display called ‘Expressions in Thread.’ The very first tapestry of this collection was a Shreenathji - a form of Krishna that she made as a personal endeavour. The acclaim that she received for this work ignited a passion for further creations which she named ‘Expressions in Thread.’ 

In 2024, Sheth, with her other artists completed this collection which had varied tapestries; from the ‘Persian Rosegarden,’ an Iranian dome-inspired tapestry to Ganga Ghat’s accurate display with thread work. Other tapestries include a display of the exile of lord Ram, Udaipur’s palaces, the flora and fauna of Indian jungles and much more. “I take a lot of inspiration from the cultures of India and try to portray them through my art, that is why you will see a lot of my work related to the cultures across India,” states the artist. From every place she visits, she brings back a memory—a unique specialty of that region—to incorporate into her art, which is why her work feels so authentic. Using threads, Sneha and her team, including Yabool, Aslam, Rafiq, and other artists, are weaving the diverse cultures of India onto the canvas of a map.

If you want to witness the artwork, you can check the collection and purchase it at the Jehangir Art Gallery, Mumbai from January 27th to February 2nd, 2025.