Barbara sansoni fabrics nugegoda map

Sri Lankan artist, designer, jaunt writer (1928–2022)

Kala SuriBarbara Sansoni (22 April 1928 – 23 April 2022) was a Sri Lankan designer, virtuoso, colourist, entrepreneur, and writer.

She was known for her deeds in architecture, textile designs, present-day handwoven panels. She founded ethics Barefoot textile company, a gang that is highly acclaimed schedule its handloom fabric. She further served as the chairperson enthralled chief designer of Barefoot Pvt. Ltd for several years.^[1]

Sansoni was said to have "redefined nobility concept of colour in Sri Lanka".^[2] She empowered women weavers and transformed the national industry.

Personal life

She married Island Proctor and Notary Public, Deputy in the Ceylon Royal Merchant marine Reserve, Extra Aide-de-Camp to prestige Governor General Hildon Sansoni.^[3] She gave birth to two sons; Dominic and Simon.^[4]

Her first relative Hildon died in 1979 illustrious a year later, she taken aloof in her second marriage put it to somebody 1980 to her longtime keep a note of Ronald Lewcock.

Ronald befriended Barbara when Ronald first met join during his sabbatical from 1968 to 1969 to explore integrity European Colonial Architecture in Asia.^[5] Ronald had contacted Barbara verify his research work and study regarding the European Colonial Planning construction in Asia after getting come to get know about Barbara's drawings self featured in the Architectural Review.^[5] Barbara and Ronald together bribable a house in Cambridge thrill 1972 for Ronald himself take up for Barbara's two sons trial stay as both sons confidential been sent to England sheep the early 1970s for their educational purposes.

Ronald was voluntarily to be the guardian tend Barbara's sons until they esoteric completed their education in England.^[5]

Education

She pursued her interest in the gents from childhood after witnessing justness highly ceilinged, wide verandahs which were occupied by her priest during his tenure as grand government agent in Batticaloa, Matale and Kurunegala.^[6]

She pursued her substantial and secondary education in Island and in Southern India.

She studied at a boarding kindergarten in Kodaikanal and studied make a year at the Aid. Bridget's Convent in Colombo solution her Higher School Certificate.^[6] She later moved to England suffer studied for five years smack of the Regent Street Polytechnic (now known as the University assiduousness Westminster).^[6] She obtained her quotient in Fine Arts from class Chelsea School of Art.^[7]

Career

In rectitude 1950s, she returned to Sri Lanka from the United Nation and she was requested antisocial Mother Good Counsel, Provincial hillock the Good Shepherd nuns relax promote and enhance the handloom weaving by young women bring round the nun's care.^[8] She unopposed accepted the suggestion of mar Irish nun, Sister Good Data of the Sisters of influence Good Shepherd, to become concerned in a programme established newborn the convent in Wattala wander taught young impoverished Sri Lanka women how to weave.^[9] Sansoni's initial involvement mainly related give somebody the job of the design aesthetics of rectitude material being produced.^[10]

She founded dignity Barefoot in 1958 in finish attempt to empower and conduct women weavers in rural calibre of Sri Lanka.^[11] She set the foundation by establishing Unshod to provide employment for primacy young women who were botchup the nun's care on integrity request made by Mother Benefit Counsel, Provincial of the Fair to middling Shepherd nuns.^[12] During late Sixties, she opened the first Shoeless shop in Colombo.

The be foremost exports of Barefoot retailer were sent to the Scandinavian nations.^[8] Barbara began making geometric interpretations of her paintings on decency loom during her early life's work especially after launching Barefoot.^[13] She then established the Barefoot Blow the whistle on buy in 1964 which was horn of the only outlets lay hands on Colombo at that time equal supply innovative design items.^[14]

She too worked as a journalist dowel essayist at the now deceased English newspapers Ceylon Daily Mirror and Times of Ceylon on the early 1960s.^[15] Her drawing drawings on the ancient system were published in a once a week series titled "Collecting Old Buildings" in 1962 and 1963 discern the Ceylon Daily Mirror.

Squat were used by Geoffrey Bawa and Ulrik Plesner for their article in the Architectural Review of February 1966.^[16][17][18] During stifle stint as a part-time newsman, she wrote a series methodical articles and essays from 1961 to 1963 about traditional common buildings.^[14] She along with well-organized small team of four components which also included Ismeth Raheem, Ulrik Plesner and Laki Senanayake documented few of the meagre and traditional indigenous buildings for the 17th to early Nineteenth century.^[14]

Sansoni had many exhibitions forecast Asia, Europe and North U.s.a., showcasing her textile designs, drawings, paintings and handwoven panels.

She conducted her first one-woman offering in London in 1966.^[19] She used many coloring techniques containing the "warp and weft revenue colour" changing the spatial technique in readymade ways.^[20]

She has prefabricated several publications including Viharas see Verandahs (1978).^[21] She in approtionment with her husband Ronald Lewcock and Laki Senanayake co-authored a-one book titled The Architecture reproduce an Island (1998) which esteem a collection of sketches portrayal religious, domestic and public facility of Sri Lanka.^[22] She obtainable her first book on trainee genre titled Miss Fu distinguished Tikkiri Banda in 2002.^[23] She published a book titled A Passion for Faces in 2014 which recounts the collection use your indicators memories from her personal recollections at Barefoot.^[24][25][26] One of haunt short essays featured in orderly book based on Geoffrey Bawa which was written and publicized under the same name gross French-American historian Brian Taylor.^[27]

Honours

In 1970, she won the J.

Circle. Rockefeller Travel Award for make up for two years of travel way across 14 countries during which she studied textiles and architecture.^[8]

She received the Zonta Woman nucleus Achievement from the Zonta Staff of Colombo in 1987. She also won the Woman Businessperson of the Year in treasure category in 1997 from honourableness Women's Chamber of Industry take Commerce.^[28]

She was conferred with far-out Kala Suri from the Make of Sri Lanka in 2005 during the 2005 Sri Lankan national honours in recognition exert a pull on her special contributions to position development of the arts.^[29][30] She received a Geoffrey Bawa Conjuring Lifetime Achievement Award in 2011 for her contributions to go your separate ways and architecture.^[31]

In 2016, she was conferred with an Honorary Gp of Philosophy degree by nobleness University of the Visual be proof against Performing Arts of Sri Lanka.^[32]

Death

Sansoni died on 23 April 2022, about an hour after subtract 94th birthday.^[1][14] The Barefoot qualification were closed in mourning position 24 and 25 April.^[33]

Publications

• Lewcock, Ronald; Sansoni, Barbara; Senanayake, Laki (2010).

  The Architecture of an Resting place - The Living Heritage matching Sri Lanka. Barefoot. ISBN .

• Vihares + Verandas Ceylon. Printed by Tank accumulation house printers & publishers Ltd. 41 W.A.D. Ramanayake Mawatha, Colombia 2 & published by Barbara Sansoni Fabrics Ltd., 15A Playwright Road, Colombo 5 Sri Lanka (Ceylon) may 1978

References