ITEM #1. These beautiful belts/ribbons gleam and shine as they are
made out of a silky material called artisela (rayon). They
are hand woven in Pátzcuaro on small looms made for narrow objects.
The belts are 2 1/4 inches wide and 47 to 50 inches long including the
fringes. They would be wonderful wrapped around a dress or skirt,
or could be slung around the neck. There is a variety of uses which
one could invent. I only have the five illustrated here right now
- multicolour, black & white, maroon & white, bright orange and
turquoise. $15.US/each belt.
ITEM #2. I was amazed to find these two pieces of fabric
(items #2 and #3) (embroidered in order to become traditional aprons worn
over long skirts particular to this specific area of the Purepecha) for
sale in the market in Pátzcuaro. The labour in making them
is almost endless, cross-stitch after cross-stitch - and they are rarely
put up for sale. One often sees women who are selling vegetables
or goods in the market, using spare moments to stitch their aprons.
Since they are done on different occasions you will find that some stitches
are backwards from others, and not everything lines up perfectly - please
do not look for perfection, but for the value of a woman's hard work instead.
The first one here is stitched with white cotton on one of the favourite
types of materials in use now - a small checker design which helps the
sewer to keep track of keeping the small squares in line. The fabric
seems to be a cotton/polyester blend. Women will design their own
patterns or use designs which they have bought or borrowed. Sometimes
simple ones are stitched, but these two are quite thoroughly coloured and
complex. A fancy edge is often scalloped around the apron.
The sides of this one have simply been turned over and stitched closed
by hand. They would be easy to undo so that you would have a slightly
larger piece of material to work with. The patterned area is 35 inches
wide and 22 1/2 inches tall. The fabric is 36 by 31 inches plus borders.
You can see aprons being used in the photo at the top of the page - with
fully traditional clothing during a dance in honour of a Saint. They
are also worn on a daily basis though, over long skirts with simpler blouses.
$165.US.
ITEM #3. This is the second piece of embroidered apron fabric.
It is a nice, deep chrome yellow cotton thread stitched into another small
checker cotton/polyester fabric. It is quite lush with flowers.
This is a curious piece with many odd parts here and there - petals that
have remained unfilled in, a cross stitch done in different directions,
or unfinished, etc. The woman doing these don't seem to mind, and
I don't mind either as I find the texture and the particular-ness of the
pieces to be quite wonderful. This pattern covers the entire width
of the fabric at 38 inches. The pattern extends almost 18 inches
tall on a fabric which is 27 1/2 inches tall. The edges have been
folded and machine stitched, with a ribbon running along one side.
You can unstitch these to give yourself a little more fabric around the
edges. I am a great admirer of the constant work that was done to
create this. $185.US.
ITEM #13. This is a marketplace find in a small jewellery store
in a coastal town. The owner's brother is a jeweller in Taxco and
puts necklaces and other items together from items brought to him.
This is an 18 inch strand of red coral plus black. The red is roughly
cut with rough bits here and there. The black has been tumbled and
is perfectly round. I don't honestly have a way to ensure that it
is truly black coral as the beads are shiny and perfect looking and I don't
want to break one. I thought this was an interesting and exuberant
piece no matter what. $145.US.
ITEM #14. Here is a collection of combs made from horn, and
patterned after creatures of stories and mythologies. #1 is a deer
4 5/8 inches long - $20.US. (sold)
#2 is a mermaid 4 1/2 inches long - $20.US. #3 is a mermaid
- $20.US. (sold) #4 is a pig 4 inches
long - $12.US. (sold) and #5 is a fish at
$12.US. (sold)
ITEM #15. This is an amusing necklace which I bought in the
Coyoacan Sunday market. The vendor only had one which was unfortunate.
This is very simply made with seeds as the beads knotted on the string,
and a skull face pendant carved out of some curious material which I am
not sure about. It reminds me of tagua nut, which could have been
dyed to suit. The skull pendant is almost 1 1/4 inches tall, and
the necklace is 19 inches long. $28.US. (sold)
I have some beaded work here, done by Mayan women and sold in the market.
beads were brought in with the first traders, and were found to be a source
of creative ornament from the beginning...
ITEM
#8. The work on these pieces is amazing and time consuming.
This necklace (collare) is 30 inches long with 16 strands of beads,
woven into cones in 5 places around the piece. It slips on and sparkles.
$45.US.
ITEM #9. This 30 inch long seed bead necklace (collare) is
a little more subtle in colour than the one above, but it still sparkles
with life. It also has 16 strands of beads. $45.US.
ITEM
#10. There are two necklaces here (corbatas) - - when laid
out they stretch 15 inches from one end to the other. They slip on
like North American native Indian ones do, and use the same basic type
of stitches. It is only natural as there is a limited amount of ways
that beads could be strung together. Like all of the seed bead work,
they are rich in colour and full of life. $22.US/each
ITEM #11. Here are two bracelets or pulseras to fit tightly
around one's wrist. They each fit a 7 inch wrist - no larger.
The pulsera with the fish is $10.US and the peridot green/gold one below
is $6.US.
ITEM #12. This is a gorgeous little zip topped bag (bolsa).
This is well made and lined with black fabric. This measured 4 inches
by 2 3/4 inches so is perfect for a little change or a safe place to keep
a little jewellery in. It is the same pattern both front and back.
$25.US.
back
to the MEXICO first page
for
earrings from Oaxaca, please check here
to
learn more about textiles in Mexico, here is an interesting page
