It’s still summer and we have some beautiful, lightweight clothing for sale in the Shop that will carry you through the dog days of August and into September. And, as we transition into autumn and then winter, check out some mid-to heavier weight blouses (blusas) and huipiles and ponchos. All are handwoven. Many are made with natural dyes. They come from Oaxaca and Chiapas. All personally curated by Norma and Eric. Plus, there are some great pieces for home decor and organizing, including handwoven baskets from Oaxaca’s Mixteca Alta.
Sale goes from Wednesday, August 14 to Tuesday, August 20. Don’t miss out on first picks!
Some examples of what’s in the Shop! Use your credit card or PayPal for no added fees.
We’ve just added these to the shop where you can purchase them directly and use a credit card or PayPal for no added fees! http://www.shop.oaxacaculture.com
19″ wide x 21″ long19″ wide x 21″ long
Size Small, measuring 19″ wide and 21″ long. Both of these are embroidered using a sewing machine, but the pattern is created free-form. They do not use a template and each blouse made this way is especially unique. The blouses comes from San Juan Guichcovi, in Juchitan, Isthmus of Tehuantepec. They are easy to wear and easy to clean (wash on cold, gentle, hang to dry) because they are 100% cotton. Go to the Shop Website. But hurry. We only have these two.
Are artisans also artists? This is a question that has been ruminating in my mind for a while now. It was triggered again recently when I attended the Weave a Real Peace (WARP) conference in Colorado in mid-May 2024. When there, I listened to the keynote presentation by Lynda Teller Pete, a Navajo weaver from Two Grey Hills, Newcombe, New Mexico. She is also a writer, and consultant, author of Spider Woman’s Children. Lynda calls herself and her prolific sister Barbara Teller Ornelas artists. What is the difference and how do we explain it? It’s difficult, she says, almost a blended concept. She goes on to explain that We are artists because we are not into production work, and we don’t sell to middlemen. We sell direct to collectors. Lynda, as the keeper of the family and community stories, says that the traditions of the culture are sacred and preserved in the rug designs. Artistry is a very colonial term. We live as a Navajo and as weavers we strive to be great artists. We see the resiliency of our ancestors. Art and family are all one thing. I see the same thing In Oaxaca and throughout Mexico.
Teller Pete continues to discuss how some criticize them for offering workshops for non-Natives, claiming that she and her sister are encouraging cultural appropriation and giving away cultural secrets. We also teach weaving to non-Navajos. How else will people know about the weaving? We are giving an insight into how difficult it is and how we have survived with our skills. We aren’t training people to become weavers. This is an educational process. We have talked about the differences here at Oaxaca Cultural Navigator between cultural appropriation and cultural appreciation, and in this case, the circumstances fall under the category of cultural appreciation. The same holds true in the weaving community of Teotitlan del Valle, where some object to weavers teaching workshops to outsiders, claiming this gives away their culture and borders on cultural appropriation.
Let’s get back to Artist v. Artisan. I asked Lynda about this directly at the conference, and her response was that the definitions between the two are blurred. I came home wanting to know more. So, I’ve thought about and researched this topic. In my view, art is an expression of personal creativity, and the artist is an innovator and originator, rooted in traditional practices and with outstanding skills, yet able to express self and the world in new ways using tradition as a steppingstone. An artist breaks boundaries and interprets the traditional, giving us something new and exciting. An artisan is a master crafts person who perfectly executes traditional processes, often keeping cultural continuity by replicating what has been done in the past.
Furthermore, artists use creative imagination and conscious skill to create, such as paintings, sculptures, music or writing. They prioritize self-expression and creativity. Whereas artisans are skilled workers who practice a trade or handicraft, often making functional or decorative items. They value technical mastery and tradition. According to conservative interpretation, artisans can include bakers, silversmiths, jewelers, glassblowers, leather workers, potters, and weavers.
Artists create work driven by personal expression, creativity and aesthetic value. This work is often unique, one-of-a-kind, and may provoke thought, evoke emotions, or convey a message. Artisans focus on creating functional, practical, and often decorative objects using traditional methods and skills. Their work combines both artistic and technical skills, often resulting in handcrafted items like pottery, jewelry, furniture or textiles. It is said that artists are associated with fine arts, and artisans with craftsmanship. Artists sign their work and artisans often do not.
The art and artisan world in Mexico is changing. As Lynda Teller Pete explains, the boundaries between the two categories are blurred. The Chavez Santiago family of weavers, with whom I have lived for twenty years, are now all putting their initials into their woven rugs and textiles. They are innovating by creating new designs and revitalizing the use of natural dyes. Jewelry and alebrijes makers have signed their work for at least the last twenty years. Most of the artist-artisans I know are innovators – modifying their designs and products to appeal to a broader market, making clothing that is more breathable and lighter weight, taking elements of traditional pre-Hispanic designs and modifying them for a more contemporary appeal, incorporating non-traditional materials into their work like jute and other plant fibers, copper and other elements. Are they artists or artisans?
We would love to hear from you. What are your views of artist and artisan? Does artisan connote something lesser than artist? Is a weaver entitled to call her/himself an artist? Is a jewelry maker or potter an artist or artisan?
Notes: See shop.oaxacaculture.com for artist and artisan made clothing, rugs, home goods, jewelry from Mexico. We have a great selection of over 100 pieces! If you are coming to Oaxaca for Day of the Dead, come to our Day of the Dead photography workshop in Teotitlan del Valle with award-winning Luvia Lazo, and our October 30, folk art tour that includes hands-on experiences and lunch!
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Now, a health update from Norma: I’m almost eight weeks out from spinal fusion surgery at University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Center in Denver. This is the reason you haven’t heard from me in a while. As we say in Mexico, this surgery was heavy! Intense. Painful. I was on opioid pain medications for six weeks and managed to taper off completely in the seventh week. The incision is almost healed. It’s been a journey. I now have titanium in my back with a spacer between L4-L5 vertebrae, two rods and four screws. I can walk without pain in my legs. Before surgery, I could barely take five steps without stopping. It’s still a work in process. I’m exercising and walking and intend to go to Japan for two weeks in early September. But I know I’ll have to take it easy. Right now, I’m building up to walking 6,000 steps a day.
Why Travel With Us: Help sustain regenerative traditions.
We know the culture! This is our land! We are locally owned and operated.
Eric Chavez Santiago is tri-lingual --Spanish, English, Zapotec.
Eric was founding director of education, Museo Textil de Oaxaca + folk art expert
Norma Schafer has lived in Oaxaca since 2005.
Norma is a seasoned university educator.
We have deep connections with artists and artisans.
63% of our travelers repeat -- high ratings, high satisfaction.
Wide ranging expertise: textiles, folk art, pottery, cultural wisdom.
We give you a deep immersion to best know Oaxaca and Mexico.
We organize private travel + tours for museums, arts, organizations, collectors + appreciators.
Creating Connectionand Meaning between travelers and with indigenous artisans. Meet makers where they live and work. Join small groups of like-minded explorers. Go deep into remote villages. Gain insights. Support cultural heritage and sustainable traditions. Create value and memories. Enjoy hands-on experiences. Make a difference.
What is a Study Tour: Our programs are learning experiences, and as such we talk with makers about how and why they create, what is meaningful to them, the ancient history of patterning and design, use of color, tradition and innovation, values and cultural continuity, and the social context within which they work. First and foremost, we are educators. Norma worked in top US universities for over 35 years and Eric founded the education department at Oaxaca’s textile museum. We create connection.
OCN Creates Student Scholarship at Oaxaca Learning Center Giving back is a core value. Read about it here
Meet Makers. Make a Difference
Oaxaca Cultural Navigator LLC has offered programs in Mexico since 2006. We have over 30 years of university, textile and artisan development experience. See About Us.
Programs can be scheduled to meet your independent travel plans. Send us your available dates.
Arts organizations, museums, designers, retailers, wholesalers, curators, universities and others come to us to develop artisan relationships, customized itineraries, meetings and conferences. It's our pleasure to make arrangements.
Select Clients *Abeja Boutique, Houston *North Carolina Museum of Art *Selvedge Magazine-London, UK *Esprit Travel and Tours *Penland School of Crafts *North Carolina State University *WARP Weave a Real Peace *Methodist University *MINNA-Goods *Smockingbird Kids *University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
October 27, 28, 29: DAY OF THE DEAD PHOTO WORKSHOP in Teotitlán Del Valle with Luvia Lazo, featured in The New Yorker Magazine. Portraits and Street Photography, recipient of Leica Women Foto Project Award Winner 2024. This is an insider's Street and Portrait photography experience. We visit families in their homes to arrange photo sessions, we take you on the back streets where tourists rarely go.
October 30: Bucket List Day of the Dead Immersion in Teotitlan del Valle A one-day immersion into culture, traditions, and meaning. Build an altar. Gather altar decor at the special market. Savor a homemade tamale lunch. Taste mezcal. Visit artisans. Dye a special textile. Register FAST.
December 6-14: Oaxaca Textile Tour and Workshopsincluding dye and weaving workshops, Tlacolula market and spinning village visits, plus lots more. With Fiber Circle Studio, Petaluma, California. Registration open!
January 11-17, Deep Dive Into Oaxaca: Cooking, Culture + Craft.Take a cooking class and printmaking workshop, visit artisan studios, weavers, and potteries, eat street tacos, taste artisanal mezcal, shop at markets, and explore the depths. 1 Double-Bed Room Left!
February 6-15:Guatemala Textile Study Tour: Cloth and Culture. Discover Antigua, Lake Atitlan and Panajachel, Chichicastenango Market, and visit Coban where they weave fine gauze cloth called pikbil. SOLD OUT
March 12-17: Deep Into the Mixteca Alta: Oaxaca Textile + Folk Art Study Tour 2025. This is cultural immersion at its best! Following the Dominican Route, we visit potteries, churches, Triqui weavers working in natural dyes, a cooperative in Tijaltepec that makes smocked blouses, the expansive Tlaxiaco Saturday Tianguis. Experience another side of Oaxaca.
October: Japan Folk Art and Textile Tour. Get on the Interested List. Details to Come. Email us.
Oaxaca has the largest and most diverse textile culture in Mexico! Learn about it.
When you visit Oaxaca immerse yourself in our textile culture: How is indigenous clothing made, what is the best value, most economical, finest available. Suitable for adults only. Set your own dates.
One-Day Tours: Schedule When YOU Want to Go!
Ruta del Mezcal One-Day Tour.We start the day with pottery, visiting a master, then have lunch with a Traditional Oaxaca Cook who is the master of mole making. In Mitla, we meet with our favorite flying shuttle loom weaver, and then finish off with a mezcal tasting at a palenque you will NEVER find on your own! Schedule at your convenience!
Teotitlan del Valle Map with select rug weavers, restaurants, village attractions
Tlacolula Market Map -- where to find food, shopping, ATMs, and more
Our Favorite Things to Do in Oaxaca -- eating, shopping, gallery hopping + more
We require 48-hour advance notice for orders to be processed. We send a printable map via email PDF after your order is received. Please be sure to send your email address. Where to see natural dyed rugs in Teotitlan del Valle and layout of the Sunday Tlacolula Market, with favorite eating, shopping, ATMs. Click Here to Buy Map After you click, be sure to check PayPal to ensure your email address isn't hidden from us. We fulfill each map order personally. It is not automatic.