Laatz Xiguiea: Teotitlan's fields (gray)

Size: 80x150cm; 2.6x5ft

Weaver: Mario Martinez Mendez. Mario helped us plant our corn this season, he is a hardworking and kind man who also has a bike shop and weaves to support his family. His wife  bought most of our corn last year to make tortillas to sell in the morning market. They are a sweet family who depend on the rug and corn economy, I hope their work finds a home and that someone can support them during this slow business.

Materials and Methods: criollo sheep wool spun in the family mills of Tianguistengo, hand dyed with colorfast aniline dyes using an exhaustive method. Hand woven on a walking Zapotec loom in the style of the 16th century looms and using a 7 threads per inch reed.

Patterns ans symbols: the first stripes represent smile and laughter that are the source of healing. The mountains represent the natural altars of the world because when we hike up to the top we also elevate our spirit closer to the sky; the mountain ranges surrounding our village also create the microclimate that makes our milpa food system grow well. The central diamond figure represents the Eye of the Feathered snake, the balance of our awareness between the spirit world, the earthly needs, the Nahual (intuition) and tonal (logic) awareness. This diamond has the life cycle of the Nahual growing from it showing us the path to become a person that keeps knowledge and wisdom. Many seeds are dotted neatly around this central figure, these seeds are all the plants we sow in our milpa food system (corn, beans, squash, amaranth, chillies, chia seeds...etc). The border of this central figure represents the lightning bolts of the storms that announce the rains and the sprouting of certain plants and mushrooms even before the first rains fall.