Beating Wild Cotton on the Oaxaca Costa Chica
We’ve been traveling on Oaxaca’s Costa Chica for the past four days. This is the stretch of territory that starts at Puerto Escondido on the Pacific Ocean and goes north to Acapulco along Mexico’s Highway 200. A highlight of our 12-day Oaxaca Textile Study Tour that started in the central valleys of Oaxaca, was a […]
BLUE: Japan Indigo Dye Workshop and Textile Study Tour, November 27 – December 11, 2018
BLUE: Japan Indigo Dye Workshop and Textile Study Tour — immerse yourself in the culture, fiber arts and traditions of Japan. Arrive Monday, November 27 and depart Tuesday, December 11, 2018. Limited to 9 participants. 14 days! My dream is to follow the indigo. From Oaxaca to Japan: Let’s dream and travel together to immerse […]
Oaxaca Textile Marketplace: Shades of Gray
As I prepare to return to Mexico on November 16, I’m taking another sweep through my trunks, storage boxes, closet and drawers to offer for sale the pieces that I have collected, never worn or used. Perhaps there is a treasure here that would be a perfect addition to your home, wardrobe, or gifted to […]
Chiapas Notebook: Tenejapa Textiles and Thursday Market
Tenejapa, Chiapas is a regional center in the highlands of Chiapas about an hour- and-a-half beyond San Cristobal de las Casas. It’s a regional administrative center, about midway between the city and the remote village of Cancuc, past Romerillo. Most roads splay out from San Cristobal like spikes on a wheel hub, dead-ending down a canyon […]
Register Now! Oaxaca WARP Textile Conference, June 8-11, 2017
Since early 2016, I’ve been working behind the scenes with Weave a Real Peace, otherwise known as WARP, to help them plan their 2017 annual meeting/textile conference in Oaxaca. Attendees will arrive on June 8 and the events go through Sunday, June 11. There are also many optional activities planned, too. CLICK to Find Out […]
Pop-Up Sale: Oaxaca Quechquemitl, Mexico Stylish Scarf/Poncho
This pop-up clothing sale features the indigenous Mexico short poncho or triangular bodice cover-up called a quechquemitl in the Nahuatl language, used by pre-Hispanic women throughout the country. It’s my favorite accessory and that’s why I have too many of them! Slip one over your head, and your shoulders and bodice are covered beautifully, even […]
Oaxaca Natural Dye Workshop, Day One: Prep to Make 32 Colors
For three days I am immersed in natural dyes with Elsa Sanchez Diaz who teaches our Oaxaca Natural Dye Workshops through Oaxaca Cultural Navigator. We make 32 different colors starting with a base of gray and white natural wool. The natural plant and vegetable materials we dye with include palo de brazil (Brazilwood), nogal (walnut), cochineal (the […]
Clothing Matters: Dress and Identity in Oaxaca
In planning for a visit to India in November 2016 and on the recommendation of a friend, I ordered a copy of Emma Tarlo’s book, Clothing Matters: Dress and Identity in India. What strikes me are the similarities between Mexico and India and the politics of cloth as a statement of belonging, assimilation and independence. […]
Tenancingo Mi Tierra: Evaristo Borboa Casas Weaves Ikat Rebozos
It was our last day of nine days in Tenancingo de Degollado, Estado de Mexico, studying the ikat rebozo of Mexico. It was a free day when our ten textile study tour participants could return to visit a weaver they met earlier in the week if they wished or roam the town market. Britt and […]
Antiques in San Pablo Villa de Mitla, Tlacolula, Oaxaca
There is a tall, inconspicuous door on a San Pablo Villa de Mitla side street. Open it and discover a home gallery filled with antique treasures. The inventory is small and includes ancient stone metates, glass vases hand-painted with flowers and edged in gold, reliquaries and ex votos. Señor Epifanio knows his stuff. Upstairs via a […]
Textile Felt Fashion Designer Teaches Oaxaca Workshop
Maddalena Forcella is an Italian fashion designer who has lived in Mexico most of her adult life. She works in felt and creates beautiful, comfortable clothing that is Art-to-Wear. In the workshop we create the felted nuno cloth and then design garments using indigenous Mexican textile patterns including the quechequemitl, huipil, rebozo and blusa. You […]
How to Make a Wool Felt Flower
Making a flower out of felted wool fiber is a simple art process that I learned during a workshop with Jessica de Haas, Canadian clothing designer, at the Museo Textil de Oaxaca. No one else wanted to cut into their handmade felt cloth, but I took scissors in hand and cut away. Here was my reward! Felted […]
Woven Lives Movie — Vidas Entretejidas — The Best of Oaxaca Weavers and Their Textiles
University of Wisconsin-Madison faculty member and textile artist Carolyn Kallenborn is in the final stages of completing the subtitles of the documentary film she has produced called “Woven Lives.” It features six extraordinary weavers from the state of Oaxaca who exemplify the best of contemporary weaving that has evolved over centuries. Their work is rooted […]
Ikat Rebozo (Shawl) from Tenancingo, Mexico
Ikat Shawl (Rebozo) From Tenancingo, Mexico, $85 Price includes shipping in continental U.S. This deep navy blue (so deep it is almost black) shawl or rebozo is handwoven ikat from the village of Tenancingo in the State of Mexico about two hours from the city. It is 100% cotton and has an intricate, hand-tied fringe […]