Water has always been the muse of artists and poets. It captivates with its calm, as seen in Claude Monet’s water lilies, and astonishes with its power in Hokusai’s Great Wave. Many might think it easy to pay tribute to water – many poets have done so, from García Lorca to Baudelaire, from Gabriele D’Annunzio to Eugenio Montale – but it takes little to get lost… And above all, it requires the sensitivity of someone like Warli, who knows how to interpret the essence of the material in its purity, and Bartoli Design, a historic name in Italian craftsmanship that leaves its mark.

Molecules of creativity, like oxygen and hydrogen, have combined to create Waters, a series of hand-tufted rugs made with New Zealand wool and viscose. A project like this could only begin with a series of watercolor sketches, where water itself dictates the rules and defines the limits of the design. “The product development,” say the designers, “was done in close collaboration with Warli and required many technical trials to perfect, taking over four years, but we encountered a tenacious company determined to achieve the result. It was also an opportunity to strengthen the friendship that ties us to Paolo Zani, the owner and art director of the company.” (Bartoli Design)

There were many challenges, starting with the colored sections of the designs, which initially dominated too much. They were softened and resized to achieve a balanced result and create rugs with character, yet still easy to place anywhere.

The “liquid material” had to be transformed into something solid, without losing the fluid and intangible effect of water as it touches white sand, ocher earth, and moistens grass through sparkling rivulets. New Zealand wool—with its matte and uniform finish—and viscose—naturally shimmering—became the “pigments” used to create glimmers in the central areas of the rugs, reminiscent of sunlight illuminating the water’s surface. This creates a focal point in the colored and shaded parts of the rug, while the rest remains a more regular and less bright color. Waters rugs are hand-tufted and available in circular, oval, and rectangular shapes, and in three delicate, natural colors.

Hand-tufted rugs are made by twisting fibers around the cotton weave of the base. Using a needle tool, the artisan inserts and cuts the yarn on a backing canvas that reproduces the design to be created. The yarn is then secured to the weave with a coating of natural latex, to which a heavy cotton canvas is applied. Hand-tufting allows for the creation of even complex designs in relatively short times compared to knotting, and also results in extremely durable rugs.