Lucky me – not only did I meet one of the Guatemalan rug hookers, but I got to see the fabulous work that she and her co-op sisters do. Feast your eyes:
This past weekend, Tom and I headed up to Santa Fe’s Folk Art Market. I’d hoped to get there last year specifically to see the Guatemalan rugs, but our house in Massachusetts sold just a few weeks too late, so I had to wait. It was definitely worth it.
For those who don’t know the story, back in 2009, after visiting Guatemala and seeing the rampant poverty and environmental and other challenges women and their families faced, Mary Wise and Jody Slocum decided they had to help. By teaching Guatemalan women the art of rug hooking, they would provide them a means of self-support.
Look at these rugs! While hooking’s not native to this part of the world, the ladies clearly took to it. Some became teachers so as to better spread the “Gospel of Rug Hooking.” Currently, there are 63 women in seven communities taking part. With the money they make selling their mats, they can buy and/or improve their housing, send kids to school, get medical care…
I was excited to see the rugs in part because of how they’re made. These ladies can’t just pick up some wool at a local shop. Nope, they up-cycle old t-shirts just like me. Though they do cut their strips wider than I do which creates an even meatier rug than my own. But it’s the colors and the motifs they use in their designs that most impress.
Our rugs are unique pieces of art reflective of Maya culture. They are made of 100% recycled clothing sourced directly in our communities. We take our design inspirations from the huipils (traditional blouses) worn by Maya women and Semana Santa alfombras. These [alfombras] are rugs created in the streets of Guatemala during Easter using colored sawdust, flowers, fruit and vegetables.
— taken from literature from Multicolores, the organization formed to support Mary’s rug-hooking initiative and the Cooperative of Maya Women Rug Hookers.
Artist Yessika Calgua Morales, 22, was manning her booth when I arrived there. It was her first trip to the Santa Fe Market. She did beautifully. Briefly, we talked t-shirts and color. She’s been hooking about 7 years now, and the money she’s made has gone towards her mom’s medical expense, saving for school, and some dentures. And let’s not forget confidence. Learning something new, something alien to your own culture, a culture that’s not always hospitable towards independent women, that’s the BIG pay-off. Go, Yessika!
Tune in next week:
Pics and such on the other 159 booths Tom and I saw at Santa Fe’s International Folk Art Market.
Beautiful article, Laura!
Thanks, Ania!
The rugs look amazing! Did you bite for any? Did you see others buying? I think hooked rugs are so hard to sell for a decent price. They are work-intensive, and if you use wool the materials are expensive. People love them but don’t want to pay the price! At one demo up North a guild memeber had a fabulous rug for sale and it was pitiful what people wanted to spend on it….
I thought the rugs were a pretty good deal, Deb. You could pick one up, about 18″x18″ for $125; really reasonable. Larger floor mats ran in the 300s. Most of us can’t sell a rug for a good, “real” price. Even though many of mine are made of t-shirt or the bedsheets and not wool, they’re still so labor-intensive. My thought is that I’m going to make the damn things regardless, so I’ll try to sell them. The Railyards Market’s table fee is cheap, $20, so I can take that chance. And I’ve pretty much made that each week so far; there is interest. Plus I like hanging at the fair talking rugs to people. Out here, few people have seen the art form. Have to admit that I could’ve done without the 100 degrees yesterday. 🙂