MEXICO
For thousands of years Mexicans have created colorful textiles, which identify the maker’s village or ethnic group.
The Otomi Indians are from the States of Hidalgo, Mexico, Puebla and Querétaro, concentrating in the center of Mexico in the Sierra Madre Oriental mountains. It is mainly the women from the Otomí-Tepehua region who specialize in embroidering the whimsical and magical “Tenangos”. Tenangos have gained worldwide recognition as a style of hand embroidery. They are created capturing the dreams, and the animal, plant and bird kingdoms in multi colored threads. We are working directly with the community supporting this very special group of artisans. Each textile can take up to weeks and months to make.
Oaxaca
Oaxaca is the home to over 50% of Mexico’s Indigenous speaking population. There are 16 different indigenous language groups, the largest of which are Zapotec, Mixtec and Mazateco. The region has diverse landscapes with desert, rain-forest, alpine forest and coast.
The community of women of San Luis Amatlán, State of Oaxaca, have been palm weaving for generations. They are a small collective of 15 women who divide into small teams to travel to Oaxaca to sell their baskets. Their dreams, songs, and mixtec motifs are woven into the creation of these versatile palm baskets. The women have harnessed the skill of basket weaving through the generations. They first collect then dry the palm before dying it and weaving their magic.
The Huichol or Wixáritari are Native Americans, living in the Sierra Madre Occidental range in the Mexican states of Nayarit, Jalisco, Zacatecas, and Durango. The yarn paintings they create are mystical and deeply magical based on ritual arts reflecting the visions of the Huichol. The work is not only an aesthetic or commercial art form, the symbols in these paintings come from Huichol culture and its shamanistic traditions. The work on a base of bees wax and pine resin in which threads of multi colored yarn are used.
Huichols retain the traditional beliefs and are resistant to change. It is with deep respect and honor that we are working with a traditional Huichol artist, helping to support his family and community, and the survival of this ancient sacred culture.
