The Martínez family of Oaxacan weavers, 
Dec 8, 2006
By Stefanie Turner, photos by Michael Amici

Rug sale and demonstration, Friday & Saturday,  December 8 & 9, 10am–3pm, Calle Moras 52, Colonia Guadiana

Oaxaca is a vibrant and bustling city, but since the political demonstrations that started more than five months ago the tourist industry there has come to a screaming halt. Festivals have been cancelled, and shops and hotels have closed. The talented artisans who make their living selling to tourists are some of the hardest hit.

In an effort to help one family of weavers, a sale and weaving demonstration will be held today and tomorrow at calle Moras 52, Colonia Guadiana (turn up Calle 5 de Mayo from Ancha San Antonio and take a left onto Moras just before the blue and white wall; it is the first house on the right). Many different styles, sizes and colors of rugs will be on offer, including some created in a 19th-century style called rescate.

Roman Martínez and his six brothers and sisters, like many weavers from Teotitlan del Valle, were taught to weave by their parents and grandparents. Now, Roman works with his four children to carry on the tradition. Teotitlan del Valle is just outside of Oaxaca City and has been a weaving village for more than 500 years. The population is still primarily Zapotec, one of the largest indigenous groups in Mexico.

But not all weavers are alike, and the members of the Martínez family pride themselves on producing tightly woven, high-quality rugs. They dye the wool themselves with indigo, cochineal (an insect found on the nopal cactus), bark and other natural ingredients to make the wonderfully rich colors that are then woven on looms in traditional patterns.

Some of these patterns are as old as the Zapotec civilization itself and are found in the details of ancient ruins. Roman also works with imported wools such as mohair, and sometimes with silk. 

Roman and his son, Alex, will be at the sale and will have their loom set up to demonstrate how these beautiful rugs are made. They will also have some of the dye ingredients on display and are willing to teach a few words of Zapoteco to anyone who wants to learn. Come by for a free cup of chocolate atole, a hot, thick drink made with corn meal, and take this opportunity to buy a hand-woven rug that will help out a family of talented weavers.

Delicious designs of William Spratling

"Las Delicias", Designs and life of William Spratling Saturday, December 9, 7–9pm YAM Gallery, Ancha de San Antonio 20, Int. 1

In 1927, Las Delicias was a tranquil street in Taxco—a mining town in the Sierra Madre mountains of Guerrero—that was rebaptized calle William Spratling, an honor given to a restless American from Soraya, New York, who arrived in Mexico with the intention of studying colonial architecture and writing articles on tourism. 

While traveling throughout the republic, Spratling’s fascination with this country and its landscapes began to grow, and he developed a particular interest in rural and pre-Hispanic Mexico. He was a tireless collector and promoter of the Mexican culture, working primarily as a designer, writer, caricaturist, aviator and archaeological expert.

It was his training and architect's eye that allowed him to notice the innate talent of the region’s artisans. 

The existing silver deposits in the region led Spratling to open, in 1931, the first silversmithing workshop in Taxco de Alarcón, called Las Delicias. With the help of two talented goldsmiths from Iguala, Spratling laid the groundwork for the resurgence and development of the region as the seat of the new school and tradition of modern Mexican silversmithing. 

His diverse activities made him an emblematic figure of the era, and he hosted such legendary personalities at his ranch, Taxco el Viejo, as Frida Kahlo, Diego Rivera, Leon Trotsky and David Siqueiros. They enjoyed his hospitality and collections of pre-Hispanic art objects that today are housed in the regional museum, which carries his name in the city of Taxco, donated by the foundation Spratling established to ensure their care and safety.

Hollywood stars also visited Spratling, taking time out from their vacations at the resort town of Acapulco to visit Spratling’s ranch and purchase work for their collections. The elegant pieces produced by the maestro, shown in numerous museums in the United States, added prestige to Taxco de Alarcón as an artistic center, and the city grew rapidly. Today, silversmithing is one of the largest industries of Mexican artisans, and their pieces are sold around the world. 

The close relationship that Spratling had with his collaborators and the townspeople gave him great insights into the “real” Mexico, illustrated in this letter to Spratling from Diego Rivera, published in the second edition of Spratling's book Tras la Loma:

My Dear Bill:

I have received the manuscript of your book which you were good enough to let me see. Many thanks.

The publication of this book makes me very happy, you have lived here a long time and for this and other reasons—above all, because you love Mexico and Mexico loves you—it is your right to make a portrait of that which you know so well.

You have made a portrait of Mexico composed of many small portraits of people and things.

Your portraits have the acuteness and grace of those painted by certain masters in my country who died before I was born. 

Those portraits were made with precision and tenderness and contain irony and love.

Your book is in itself a portrait and in that sense needs no preface; it explains itself.

Your friend, who congratulates you, 

Diego Rivera



In 1967, after a tragic automobile accident while en route to Mexico City, William Spratling died in a hospital in Iguala, leaving behind an enormous legacy that has continued to transcend styles and borders.

YAM Gallery has the great honor of presenting the exposition “Las Delicias,” a vision of the work and life of this illustrious creator. The exhibit includes a sampling of utilitarian objects, furniture, jewellery and memorabilia brought from Spratling's museum and workshop in Taxco el Viejo, now property of the Ulrich family. Original and emblematic pieces by artists will be shown next to personal effects and excellent reproductions, made in the original workshop now headed by Don Tomás Vega.

Encaustic technique plus heart & soul

Open house & art show by Eschwan Winding Saturday & Sunday, December 9 & 10, 2–5pm Privada de Guadiana 57, Col. Allende, 154-4290

The process and changes in my life are recorded visually in my art.

Drawing and painting figures have been my passion since I was in third grade, when I began sketching classmates instead of completing my assignments. Miss Hope, my teacher, encouraged my art but insisted that I finish my math book so I could move on to fourth grade.

A few years ago, it would have been impossible to imagine that there would ever be a time that I would tire of painting people. My fascination with the movement of the body, the expression of the eyes, the energy of a fleeting glance filled my mind and sketchbook.

For 50 years, I made figurative art, including 12 years of painting only jazz musicians, the sketches for which I made while traveling with my late husband to recordings, personal appearances and jazz festivals.

Then I completed “Food and Flesh,” a series of nudes that expressed my deep feelings about the connection women have with the earth and the nurturing aspects of food. For months, I worked feverishly until there was no more to say. I felt satisfied with my work, but my question to myself was, “What now?”

A creative emptiness beckoned me to explore a new visual dialogue, which resulted in the next series of nonobjective, organic paintings, “Color Expressions.” At first glance, these subtly layered paintings appear to be only one color, but on closer inspection, light, movement and shapes appear. Encaustic encases the layered fresco, sealing the color and encouraging viewers to stroke the surface.

I have been a long-time student of the power of color to physically heal, influence moods, behavior and indicate personality types.

Along with writing a small book on the subject, for several years, I conducted color seminars for the Ethan Allen Corporation. All of this information was instrumental in creating the “Color Expressions.”

The process of change once again manifested in my art as the hues and textures of San Miguel stimulated my creative imagination and the laborious, exciting and frustrating technique of encaustic (hot beeswax, resin and pigment) challenged me to push all my artistic boundaries and create work that was completely different from anything I had produced before. In this process-oriented technique, I can put down translucent layers of hot color, scraping, incising, melting and creating a surface that expresses emotion and energy. Usually, I have no preconceived ideas when I begin an encaustic piece. The making of these paintings is like traveling in uncharted waters and remains in a fluid, plastic state until my instinct stops me, and the work and I come to a resolution. When this happens, my heart and soul are in sync with the materials and the spirit of the painting.

Will I ever go back to painting figuratively? I don’t know, but I am starting to feel the urge to change the process once again. 

Please join me in my open house. I would love to hear your comments. (Directions to Col. Allende, Privada de Guadiana 57: Take Cinco de Mayo to first cross street. Turn right, go half a block to first right, which is Privada de Guadiana. First house on right.)

http://www.ezshwan.com