Friday, July 9, 2010

Zapotec Weaving



Back in New York and luckily for me I missed most of the heatwave (knock on wood). I can't wait to share this post with you guys. During my Oaxaca visit, we went to the Santa Ana Valley which is known for their weavings. We were invited, so graciously, into the home of a weaver (one of our hosts happened to be good friends with her) where we were shown how all the weavings are made from start to finish.



Wool is first sheared, then hand-spun, and hand-dyed. Many of the dyes used are natural dyes, made from plants or bugs like cochineals. She told us that everyone in the family must learn how to weave, whether or not they were going to make a career out of it. This pattern on the loom is one of her teenage grandson. I love seeing a tradition being passed on and I hope the art of weaving isn't lost.


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