I've Been Missing — Big Problems With Blog

I've just returned from a marvelous trip to Oaxaca, Mexico where I attended the 10th Annual Shibori Symposium organized by Yoshiko Wada and her very hard-working crew. It was a sublime conference which included numerous tours  to outlying places of interest. These included ruins and small villages that often tend to specialize in one or two crafts. There were one day trips as well as  multi-day trips. There were one day workshops and longer workshops. 

I took a three day workshop with Michel Garcia. This was a grand experience. Since Michel has been criss-crossing the globe and sharing his vast knowledge of natural dyeing and mordanting. The practices used by local dyers and weavers have become infinitely more ecologically and environmentally advanced. He has helped local dyers everywhere to concentrate on using the materials that are available nearest where they live so that supplies of plants, minerals and other materials are not  over exploited. He has shared his research leading to extraordinary new practices in the use of mordents to the point that weavers in Teotitlan del Valle have transformed the efficiency of their practices. 

We watched Jacabo Mendoza give a thrilling natural dyeing demonstration for almost two hours. His  use of local plants, leaves, and other materials produced unbelievable color changes  in seconds. Several days later I made a last trip to the lovely pueblo of Teotitlan del Valle at which time six of us visited Jacabo's studio and revisited many of the practices he used several days before in his   demonstration. His wife, Maria Louisa participated as she had earlier also along with their two children. 

After a charming lunch  visit to a local restaurant, we moved  up the hill to the marvelous  silk growing and producing compound. They also demonstrated everything from the silk worms and their development to the hand spinning and reeling of the silk thread they use to make an impressive number of woven and knitted wearable articles.  

We visited the so-called largest (in width) tree in the world at Thule, another small village, on our way back to the city of Oaxaca. This was just one of the marvelous days spent in the cultural Mecca of Oaxaca. Other days featured lectures and panel discussions that ranged from descriptions of Shibori techniques to personal histories of  previous and currently practicing artists. Of course, lovely lunches, visits to museums and oh, yes, shopping filled much of the fast evaporating time available. 

Nights featured visits to all our favorite restaurants as well as musical events. One evening I attended a gorgeous concert by the Oaxaca Symphony in the beautiful operal house for which I have shown photos in earlier posts. This particular musical night was nothing short of blissful. An encore for a brilliant performance of a Beethoven symphony was the repetition of a complete movement by the conductor and his players. What a gift! The other thing that enhances my memories of such experiences is the fact that Oaxaca parents bring their children, young and old to such events. What    a joy it is to see children becoming absorbed in melody and rhythm and often moving their bodies in ways that show their total involvement. Little ones are usually asleep by the end of the performances and they are gently awakened and carried out or urged to movement which always seems to happen pretty smoothly. I adore seeing children sharing their parents' love of music and performance at such an early age.