Tag Archives: blogsherpa

Cinco de Mayo and the Battle of Puebla

Posted on Saturday, May 5, 2012 | Leave a comment

First of all, it’s important to know that today, Cinco de Mayo, is NOT Mexican Independence Day, which is September 16, 1810.

Nevertheless, it marks a significant date in history when the French army was defeated in Puebla on May 5, 1862, marking an important symbolic moment to curtail Napoleon Bonaparte’s designs on establishing a monarchy in North America. When you visit Puebla you can still see the bullet holes in front of the house occupied by General Ignacio Zaragoza.

Most of us know Cinco de Mayo as a U.S. celebration of Latino culture. There are 44.3 million Latinos living in the U.S. according to the 2008 census representing 15 percent of the population.

Perhaps we know Cinco de Mayo as the name of a favorite local Tex-Mex restaurant. Isn’t there a Cinco de Mayo Mexican restaurant in your town? There is in mine! And today, many will of us will welcome the occasion to have a party and raise a toast to our southern neighbor with a beer or Margarita. What are you doing tonight?

But there’s much more to it than that, according to historian David Hayes-Bautista, as reported today by CNN and Reza Gostar in GlendoraPatch. It seems that Cinco de Mayo was a rallying cry in the U.S. by Latinos against the elitist French monarchy, which was sympathetic to the Confederacy during the Civil War. At that time, Latinos sided with the Union, fearing that a Confederacy win would expand slavery to include them.

Puebla is Angelopolis, City of Angels

Dr. Hayes-Bautista, who is director of UCLA’s Center for the Study of Latino Health and Culture, has uncovered the first groundbreaking research that links the celebration of liberation for Mexicans with the U.S. Civil War and the hope that the Union would prevail. The win at the Battle of Puebla by the Mexican freedom fighters against the elitists energized many Americans early in the war when the Confederacy was powerful, especially Latinos.

So, as you raise your glass with a hearty Salud, recall that Latinos volunteered to serve in the Union Army in order to preserve freedom, independence, and fight for racial justice.

http://glendora.patch.com/articles/history-of-cinco-de-mayo-a-mexican-or-american-holiday

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Posted in Cultural Commentary, Mexican Immigration

Tagged Battle of Puebla, blogsherpa, celebration, Cinco de Mayo, Civil War, culture, history, Mexico, Oaxaca

Felted Fashion Workshop: Making Wearable Art Oaxaca Style with Wool, Silk and Cotton

Posted on Thursday, May 3, 2012 | Leave a comment

For hands-on fun, escape winter and come to Oaxaca from February 4 to 11, 2013. Together, during this one-week workshop residency, we will be immersed in the textile culture of Oaxaca to create naturally-dyed felted fabric combining wool, silk and cotton that can be hand or machine stitched into an indigenous clothing design of your choice. Our experts, textile and fiber artist-clothing designer Jessica de Haas, from Vancouver, B.C., Canada and Eric Chavez Santiago from Oaxaca, Mexico, will show you how!

Jessica owns the clothing design company Funk-Shui and is an award-winning, internationally known fiber artist and teacher. She recently completed an artist residency in Oaxaca, and taught and exhibited at the Museo Textil de Oaxaca. See her website for bio and designs.

Eric Chavez Santiago, founding director of education at the Museo Textil de Oaxaca, is a weaver and natural dye expert. He has taught natural dyeing techniques in Oaxaca and at U.S. universities and museums since 2006.

First, working with Eric in his family’s home studio in Teotitlan del Valle, we will dye and over-dye wool roving with natural materials: cochineal, indigo, wild marigold, pomegranates and other plants to achieve the colors you will use in your piece(s). We will learn about mordant processes to fix the dye and dye extraction to create over 10 different colors. Dye recipes are included!

Then, working with Jessica in the courtyard of our B&B, we will felt our naturally dyed wool fiber on silk or loosely woven cotton or muslin, making a durable and beautiful fabric. After your fabric is dry, you will have the option to cut and sew it into one of several indigenous Oaxaca styles: the huipil (tunic), the blusa (blouse), rebozo (shawl), boufanda (scarf) or quechequemitl (cape). Here is a piece from Jessica’s collection that you might like!

We give you a pattern book to choose your design! Below is a sample pattern for a quechquemitl.

This workshop is for all levels of experience! You do not have to be an artist to attend. We welcome beginners who have never worked in hand felting and more advanced fiber artists. This is a perfect residency for students, teachers and artists who may want to explore a different medium, too.

We will provide you with patterns for the basic indigenous designs that can be adjusted to fit. If you want to contemporize them, we can help you tweak and make minor adjustments. If you have sewing or pattern drafting experience and want to experiment on your own, you are welcome to work on an independent design project after your fabric is made.

We will be based in the weaving village of Teotitlan del Valle where for generations families have been creating wool textiles. During our time together, we will go on local field trips to meet and talk with weavers who work with natural dyes and weave fabric for wearable art as well as sturdier floor and wall tapestries. We will see examples of the types of garments that can be created from the felted fabric we make.

Participant materials to bring (preliminary):

wool roving—either merino or corriedale, 2 lbs. or 1 kg. minimum
silk, cotton, and/or muslin—3-4 meters (4.37 yards) minimum
beads, sequins, buttons, ribbons, embroidery thread and other embellishments

Note: The materials listed are sufficient to make one garment. If you wish to prepare more than one piece of dyed felted fabric, you are welcome to bring more materials. However, it is likely you will only be able to complete one finished piece during the time allotted.

Oaxaca Cultural Navigator LLC will provide, included in your registration fee:

all instruction
7 nights lodging
7 breakfasts
7 dinners
all dye materials
pattern booklet
dye recipes
sewing machine to share, needles, thread

Workshop is limited to 8 participants

Daily Workshop Schedule:

Arrive Saturday, February 4, Depart Sunday, February 11 — 7 nights, 8 days

Day 1, Saturday, February 4, arrive and settle into your bed and breakfast posada in Teotitlan del Valle (we send directions)
Day 2, Sunday, February 5, natural dye workshop to prepare wool roving
Days 3-5, Monday-Wednesday, February 6-8, make the felted fabric on silk, cotton or muslin
Days 6-7, Thursday-Friday, February 9-10, create your pattern, sew and embellish the garment
Day 7, Friday, February 10, evening fashion show and reception
Day 8, Saturday, February 11, depart

(Preliminary daily schedule subject to modification. Start and end dates will not change.)

Workshop Fee: $1,365 per person shared room and bath, double occupancy. Single occupancy with private bath, add $300. Most travel programs of this type and length cost more than twice as much!

Optional Add-ons:

Option 1: Arrive a day early, on Friday, February 3, and take a Zapotec cooking class on Saturday, February 4 with Reyna Mendoza Ruiz. Includes one night lodging, breakfast, lunch, cooking class and recipes. $110 USD each.

Option 2: Day 8-10, Saturday-Monday, February 11-13. Add-on two more nights and visit fly-shuttle manta cotton cloth weaving studios and archeological site on Saturday in San Pablo Villa de Mitla along with a mezcal tasting at a boutique mezcaleria in Matatlan. On Sunday, visit the Tlacolula regional tianguis market to see handcrafted aprons and rebozos. $245 USD each (lunch on your own; includes two breakfasts and dinners, transportation and guided visits). Depart Monday, February 13.

About Our Workshops, Retreats and Programs. We offer educational programs that are hands-on, fun, culturally sensitive, and offer you an immersion experience. Our workshop leaders are experts in their field, knowledgeable, have teaching experience and guide you in the learning process. Our goal is to enhance your knowledge while giving you time to explore and discover.

About Lodging and Accommodations. To keep this trip affordable and accessible, we stay in a local posada operated by three generations of women — grandmother, mother, daughter — all great cooks! The food is all housemade (including the tortillas), safe to eat and delicious. Vegetarian options are available.

Accommodations are clean and basic. Shared baths are across the courtyard. (Bring flip-flops and flashlight.) The base price of the trip includes shared room and bath; single supplement with private bath is available (add $300). Please indicate your preference.

Your registration fee does NOT include airfare, taxes, admissions to museums and archeological sites, gratuities, travel insurance, liquor/alcoholic beverages, some meals and some transportation.

Deposits, Reservations and Cancellations. A 50% deposit ($683) is required to guarantee your spot. The final payment for the balance due (including any supplemental costs) shall be paid by December 15, 2012. We prefer Payment with PayPal. We will be happy to send you an invoice.

If cancellation is necessary, please notify us in writing by email. After December 15, 2012, no refunds are possible; however, we will make every possible effort to fill your reserved space. Your registration is transferable to a substitute. If you cancel before December 15, we will refund 50% of your deposit. We strongly recommend that you take out trip cancellation, baggage, emergency evacuation and medical insurance before you begin your trip, since unforeseen circumstances are possible.

To register or for questions, contact: normahawthorne@mac.com I am happy to set up a Skype call with you, too. Skype name: Oaxacaculture

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Posted in Clothing Design, Cultural Commentary, Oaxaca Mexico art and culture, Textiles, Tapestries & Weaving, Workshops and Retreats

Tagged artist, blogsherpa, class, clothing, course, design, fabric, felt, fiber, Mexico, natural dyes, Oaxaca, residency, retreat, silk, wool, workshop

The Basket Makers, Benito Juarez Market, Oaxaca, Mexico

Posted on Tuesday, May 1, 2012 | 6 Comments

At the Calle Fr. Bartolome de las Casas mid-block entrance to the Benito Juarez Market, the indigenous women who weave baskets sit like sentries or a welcoming committee, surrounded by their wares.

They arrange themselves cross legged or perched on their knees or atop small stools, however they can find comfort. On their laps, they cradle narrow strips of palm.

Their fingers are fast, with years of experience weaving the natural material into baskets, tortilla warmers, containers for jewelry or small gifts. They use an ancient weaving pattern called petate, taken from the Nahuatl word for bedroll.

The oldest one, Margarita, is from the time when indigenous people slept on woven mats which they rolled up neatly during the day to make room for the cooking fires. Her sight is not as good as it once was, but her fingers know the way. Perhaps the arthritis will not slow her down. Her comadres (women friends) are younger and more agile. They banter, keep each other company, cross sell, look out for each other’s well-being.

I discovered that to buy from one means to buy something from each of them. Imagine, an intricately hand-woven basket for less than $5 USD and some for as little as seventy-five cents. I walked away with at least ten beautiful, lightweight baskets (important for the 50 lb. airplane bag weight limit) to give as gifts. They are perfect wrapping containers for Oaxaca chocolate, coffee beans, and other treasures! Who could resist these women and their contribution to the weaving culture of Oaxaca.

Two places open for Oaxaca Photography Workshop: Market Towns and Artisan Villages. The course starts June 29.

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Posted in Cultural Commentary, Photography, Textiles, Tapestries & Weaving, Travel & Tourism, Workshops and Retreats

Tagged baskets, Benito Juarez Market, blogsherpa, class, course, Mexico, Oaxaca, photography, weaving, workshop

Indigo Dye Workshop: It’s Called Shibori, Not Tie Dye

Posted on Saturday, April 28, 2012 | 4 Comments

Actually, using resist dye technique using indigo to create patterns and designs on cotton is called shibori, tritik, amarra or plangi(depending upon country of origin). It’s not the hippie dippie 60′s tie dye that’s been reincarnated on beach blanket bingo T-shirts. It’s high fashion wearable art. Not long ago, I saw an Eileen Fisher designer label Made in Japan shibori design on a finely woven cotton scarf dyed with indigo at a Nordstrom selling for over $100USD. The technique is universal.

Norma's Indigo Dyed Shibori Napkins -- A Gift for Jacob and Michelle

As frequently as once per month, Eric Chavez Santiago teaches a hands-on indigo dye workshop for people of all ages at the Museo Textil de Oaxaca. At a recent workshop, a mother, father and baby sister accompanied a six-year-old who made a fish design on a white cotton T-shirt. Dad was right by his side and the learning was a fun family adventure. Other participants included local artists, university design program students, and visiting tourists.

Indigo can be used to dye cotton, wool, alpaca, silk, linen and the fiber of the agave plant. Some women in Oaxaca villages even use indigo to dye their hair. Dyeing with indigo is all about chemistry. Cellulose fibers such linen, cotton and agave absorb less indigo to get an intense color than do protein fibers of silk and wool. Said another way, it takes less indigo to dye cotton than wool. That’s why, we are using 100% cotton for the workshop. Polyester blends just won’t work because indigo saturates only the surface of the fiber, not it’s core.

Look for Felted Fashion Oaxaca Style, coming in February 2013. It includes dyeing wool roving, silk, and cotton with natural materials and making your fabric into luxurious scarves, blouses, wraps. Contact me to get on the mailing list for complete course description. Instructors are clothing designer Jessica de Haas, Vancouver, B.C., and Eric Chavez Santiago, Oaxaca, Mexico. Limited to 8 participants.

The process is fairly simple. First, we rinse the white fabric (I dyed white, handwoven cotton napkins from the Amuzgo tribe) in clear water to soften it. Then, we squeeze out all the moisture and make our design.

1. To make the shibori design, you can make accordian folds and then tie this together with rubber bands or with string. You can drape cloth over marbles or beans, securing them with string or a rubber band. You can whirl the fabric and then tie it with string or rubber bands.

2. To make the tritik design, you use a needle and thread to create a very specific pattern, folding the cloth and then sewing through it.

3. It probably takes about an hour to make the design. Tie a lead string onto your fabric so you can easily fish it out of the water.

4. Dip the folded and/or sewn fabric into the dye pot for 20 minutes. Be careful to immerse it gently into the solution. Do not stir or disturb in any way. Pull the piece out of the dye pot with the lead string.

5. Hang on a line from the string until the fabric changes from green-yellow to blue, for 15-20 minutes.

6. Repeat two more times.

7. Remove the rubber bands or thread.

8. Rinse well in water. Then, dip in vinegar water for 5 minutes to set the dye, soften the fabric and remove any of the alkaline residual and garlicky odor

9. Let hang to dry.

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Posted in Clothing Design, Cultural Commentary, Oaxaca Mexico art and culture, Workshops and Retreats

Tagged art, blogsherpa, class, clothing, course, design, handmade, indigo, Mexico, Oaxaca, shibori, textiles, tritik, workshop

Making Indigo Dye in Santiago Niltepec, Oaxaca

Posted on Friday, April 27, 2012 | Leave a comment

The market for organic indigo dye is making a come-back in Oaxaca as more textile artists and weavers are choosing to work with the natural plant material. Today, the state of Oaxaca produces about 100 kilograms of añil or indigo each year. Up until about three years ago, the indigo dye making process had almost died out in Oaxaca.

To stimulate the economic development of indigo as a crop, the state government has made investments to help the producers develop new markets. The Museo Textil de Oaxaca gift shop sells small bags of indigo along with “how to” DVD’s and recipes. I learned this and a lot more during the indigo dye workshop I participated in at the Museo Textil de Oaxaca, where about 15 people gathered to learn shibori and tritik dye techniques using indigo.

The people in Santiago Niltepec, on the coast of Oaxaca near Juchitan on the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, pick the wild plant, chop it — stems and leaves — and put it in a fermentation bath for at least twelve hours (sometimes as much as thirty-six hours) to prepare the dye. Each family has its own recipe for making the indigo paste. Most use rocks to keep the plants submerged below the water to make sure that they oxidize completely and yield the deepest color.

The process is ancient, thousands of years old. The plant material decomposes and collects at the bottom of the large vats as a thick paste. It’s then strained to separate any sediment. The result is a highly saturated, concentrated product. It takes about 200 kg of plants to produce 1 kg of indigo dye. It is then dried and becomes rock-hard. To then use it, it must be pulverized into a fine powder. Traditionalists in Oaxaca use a metate or mortar and pestle. Others take the faster route by using an electric coffee grinder.

Indigo can’t be dissolved in pure water. It has to be dissolved in a highly alkaline solution with a 10-11 pH, and free of oxygen. Eric Chavez Santiago, director of education at the Museo Textil de Oaxaca, told us that there are several ways to manipulate the chemistry by using either sodium hydrosulfide (highly caustic) or the more organic fructose crystalline. French botanist and dyer Michel Garcia is now experimenting with using mango skins and fructose successfully.

Eric says it is important to be patient when dyeing with indigo. You can use the dye within thirty minutes after preparing it, but it often takes three or four days of fermentation to get the deepest shades of blue.

During the workshop, we dipped our white cotton material at least twice for 20 minutes each time, to intensify the color. Some people even dye their hair with indigo!

Tapestry Weaving and Natural Dye Workshop this summer 2012! Don’t miss it.