It gets greener after a fire

Size: 60x100cm, 2x3ft
Weaver: Belen Bautista

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Materials and methods: Criollo sheep wool dyed with anilines. Wool and agave warp. Handwoven on a Zapotec walking loom of the 16th century style using a 7 threads per inch harness.

Pattern and symbols: We gather around the grandfather fire to listen to our elders tell stories and transmit knowledge to the future generations. Belen wove seeds with the fire pattern to show the relationship between fire and and some pine seeds that need exposure to fire to sprout. We don't have a fire department in our village but when there is a big uncontrolled fire the bell at the church is rung and everyone hikes up to the mountain to volunteer to control and manage the fire; when we tend the land this way not only does the land cleanses but our community gets stronger too. This is why there is a smile pattern surrounding the seeds that will feed us and reprobate our forest. The green color reminds us that after a controlled fire the land heals leading to an even greener patch of land, in the same way that we have the opportunity to grow and learn after the fire of big emotional episodes.
By purchasing this rug you will be supporting my cousin Justino and his fiancée who are in a legal battle to defend their backyard from being taken away by an out of town person who married into our family and now is selling the land to someone else. Justino and Belen usually weave intricate and collectible rugs but we decided to make a batch that don't require so much of an investment to make in hopes that they sell faster. Needles to say this rug is woven very well and very sturdy agave fiber edges.