5/20/2006

Indian Yarn Art

The Huichol have been creating these amazing yarn art tiles for hundreds of years. They interpret their visions and experiences while visiting the spirit world using colorful yarn which they glue to the wooden tiles using a paste made from bees' wax. First the artist makes a very rough sketch onto the wood and then meticulously goes about applying the yarn, each tiny strand one by one, creating the image you see before you. It is not uncommon for a tile this size to take in upwards of 20 hours to complete! On the reverse of each tile, the artist writes in his native tongue (a tribal spanish) a description of what the image means or what he was trying to capture. We have included a loose translation with each tile. This particular tile captures the high priest asking the moon for good rains and abundant crops. Measurements: 12" square

There is a picture of one at Indian Sun

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