Padini Nirmal weaves her scholarly interest in the politics of the land rights of indigenous people with her passion for creative expression. Operating under the business name Red Earth Roses, Padini creates one-of-a kind earrings and necklaces, using reclaimed brass, parts of friends’ broken jewelry, and globally and locally sourced beads.

“In the beginning, it was a way for me to make presents for friends,” Nirmal says from her bright, book-filled home in Worcester near Clark University.  “It sort of evolved from there because I had a lot of  friends and family supporting me and encouraging me.”

A weekend with girlfriends on Sagamore Beach, where, on a lark, they made some jewelry with sea glass beads, inspired her business. Then, in late 2015, Padini began selling necklaces and earrings by word of mouth and on an Etsy site. Now she is taking her wares to flea markets in the Boston area.

Nirmal donates profits from her business to nonprofit groups that support social justice. Padini earned her doctorate in geography, focusing on indigenous land politics in India through the lens of decolonial feminist political ecology, a complex intersectional approach to understanding the interplay between colonialism and land politics. “My idea for a good piece of jewelry is it should be made ethically and it should give back in some way, “ says Nirmal, who earned her PhD this spring. “You have a responsibility to do the best you can for those around you, wherever your circumstances might be.”

While a Cape Cod weekend was the impetus for the business, Padini’s interest in handcrafted jewelry began in her childhood in Madras (now Chennai). “My first memory of beads and jewelry is from riding the suburban train with my mum, and buying beaded jewelry from travelling Nari Kuravar jewelry sellers,” says says.

Later, as a graduate student Padini spent time with the Nari Kuravar while interning with the National Folklore Support Centre in Central Tamilnadu, India. What she discovered was that jewelry making is an integral part of the ethos of these formerly nomadic people who believe work itself should comprise 30 percent of one’s time. She witnessed, for example, women cooking meals for their families while beading with threads looped around their toes.

As an academic whose days are consumed with cerebral pursuits, Padini finds particular joy in jewelry making. “It’s important to make something with your hands and hone it as a skill,” she says with a broad smile. “That’s a different kind of fulfillment.”

Padini Nirmal–jewelry maker, Red Earth Roses
Worcester, Massachusetts
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All photos courtesy of Padini Nirmal.

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The Worcester Art Museum focuses on life close to home with its current exhibition, Rediscovering an American Community of Color. Unveiling an important history of the Worcester’s diverse community, the museum worked in collaboration with Clark University student researchers who spent their past spring semester studying the history of a local photographer, William Bullard.

Bullard left behind over 5,400 glass negatives that he accumulated between the years of 1897 and 1918, documenting the lives of his African and Native American neighbors in Worcester’s Beaver Brook neighborhood. The exhibit features 230 portraits that reveal a unique understanding and level of comfort between the photographer and his “sitters” as the museum calls them.

The eyes of the subjects stare with intent. Their postures suggest a relaxed environment and casual interaction with Bullard. What makes this exhibition particularly rare and adds to its intimacy is the hand-written log book of Bullard that lists the names, dates, and a description of the subjects in his photographs, revealing the level of respect and seriousness that Bullard held himself accountable for in taking these photographs. This was a collection of work meant to expose our modern society to its personal past. The display provides “a photographic narrative of migration and resettlement in the aftermath of Emancipation and Reconstruction” that is raw and unedited. It brings awareness to what life was like for the working class people of color prior to World War I in Massachusetts. It tells a story of new community development, as well as immigration.

The museum offers a guided tour of the exhibition the first and third Saturday of each month at 2 pm. It’s free with admission to the museum. The exhibition runs until February 25th, 2018. The exhibit comes to the museum thanks in part to the generosity of Frank J. Morrill, the owner of the negatives, and John Marcy of 21st Editions, the printer of the negatives.

The post William Bullard: A Look at Worcester’s Community of Color appeared first on Take Magazine.