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Agustin Mendoza
Teotitlan del valle,
Oaxaca, Mexico |
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Teotitlan del Valle is the rug weaving center for the state of Oaxaca. Augustin's family purchases the wool in a nearby village and takes to the river where it is washed. It is then taken home and washed again before it is carded and spun into thread. It is again washed with the soap from the root of the a tree as their ancestors did because of no soap was available until after the conquest. Next the thread is dyed using only vegetable dyes. Chemical dyes are used only to get a brighter color or to meet the demands of a customer. For example, the color wheel is created as follows:
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Reds and purples from the cochinilla- insect from the cactus plant
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Blue and indigo from the anil plant
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Beige from the zapote plant
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Browns from pecan shells and tree bark
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Yellows and oranges from marigold flowers
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Greens from the pomegranate fruit
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Natural colors are created from no dyes.Grey is a blend
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He is continuously experimenting for different colors.
After the wool is dyed, it is set up on a pedal loom and it takes 2-3 weeks to weave a small rug (2 x 3). The larger ones (9 x 12) can take up to 2 months to complete. |
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Dona Rosa
San Bartolo Coyotepecm, Oaxaca,Mexico |
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Dona Rosa had always made pottery as it had been done for centuries. But in 1952, she found a different type of clay and this changed her pottery making. This clay is soaked for days, strained through a screen, then through a cloth to remove all seeds and stones. It is then kneaded like bread dough for a long time. The process is done on a simnple hand turned plate as there is no modern equipment. Each piece is made in stages so it will not collapse. After it is completely dried, the piece is burnished by rubbing it with a piece of quartz stone which gives it a shiny finish. It is fired in an underground kiln for 8-10 hours and the result is a strong black color. The complete process takes about 20 days to complete a pot. All tools are natural to the area: bamboo for designing, ashes to handle the clay, a piece of cow hide to smoothen the pottery. etc the pottery is only for decoration...as it does not hold water. It must be fired another 3-4 hours. But then it will turn in color to gray. |
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Village of Santo Tomas Jalieza, Oaxaca, Mexico |
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This is a village of 300 people who dedicate their lives to weaving on a waist loom. There is a women's cooperative in the village square and they all weave and sell their purses, bags, belts, bracelets, placemats, table runners, etc. It is common to see ladies sitting around the hitching post, chatting and weaving. To make a table runner or a purse, it takes three days! This was the only way to weave during the pre-conquest times. The pedal loom for weaving was introduced by the Spanish after the conquest.
Martinez and Mendez families
San Martin Tilcajete, Oaxaca, Mexico
This entire village of 300 families dedicates their lives to communal farming and making alebrijes-wood carved-painted animals. They gather the copal wood because it is soft for carving. Their imagination runs wild as they gather the wood, thinking of what they can make with each piece! The process begins by chopping the wood with a machete and then carving with a knife. Some animals are one piece while others are pieced and glued or nailed together to get the legs, ears, etc. The animal is then sun dried and then soaked in kerosene or gasoline for several days to kill the bugs in the wood. It is then sun dried again. Finally they are sanded and painted with bright colors using an acrylic paint. They use no patterns, just their imagination! Every animal that is carved and painted can be found in this village!
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