Elissa Bautista Mendoza and her family run a workshop of textile art, from the community of Teotitlán del Valle, in the state of Oaxaca, in its 5th generation. They are dedicated to the design, elaboration and sale of wool textiles, using the wool of sheep, carded in cardalana and spun in the distaff and woven by hand in pedal loom, with ancestral techniques, dyed with vegetable dyes, such as grana cochineal, and indigo among other plants, which help our environment not pollute it, creating authentic designs from archaeological figures, geometric figures, and cave paintings.

In the workshop they have 12 family members, including uncles, aunts, cousins, nephews, nieces, and siblings. Their father is dedicated to weave drawing designs (painting replicas), Elissa’s brother and uncles are in charge of elaborating the pieces of the biggest sizes in different designs, and her mother and aunts elaborate canvases for bags, pencil cases and purses and they are in charge of sewing them by hand. Her sister-in-law and cousins are in charge of elaborating handmade earrings and tlacoyales, her cousins are in charge of making small rugs, table runners and she creates decorative pictures woven in pedal loom. They dye their skeins of thread, often experimenting with various unique plants, then together they go to nearby
rivers to wash them.

Elissa’s great inspiration and motivation to continue with her artisan work has been her grandmother. When she was little, every afternoon grandmother Agustina would card the wool, and they used to talk in their mother tongue (Valley Zapotec). They would talk about fun days, and she would see her grandmother’s great ability to card, with the sunset behind her that reminded Elissa of the colors they obtained from the grana cochinilla.  

Elissa’s mother cultivated the dye plants, and explained the best season to plant and prepare them. When she was 12 years old her father taught her the techniques of weaving, and told her that mathematics was the key part of weaving . One morning her grandmother came to her loom, watching her weave.  Elissa told her about the new embossing techniques of wool that she was using, and about the designs that reflected her dreams as a child. Her grandmother was happy because she saw Elissa’s great enthusiasm to be able to create and
innovate new products while preserving traditional weaving techniques as well
as being able to support her family in spreading their artisan work.  

The name of the workshop has been inspired by her grandmother whose hands with great love and passion have given to them their artisan legacy.

The mission of their workshop:

* Guarantee to the customer that s/he is buying a 100% handmade product woven in loom, handmade and being original craftsmen.

* Preservation and cultivation of dye plants (pericon, marushs, cempasuchitl, walnut, pomegranate, muitle).

* To give workshops to young people and children to encourage future generations to continue with this legacy.

AWARDS

December 2013 Participation in a craft meeting held by the United Nations in Mexico City

August 2021 Participation in the Fair of indigenous cultures of peoples and neighborhoods of Mexico City

January 2022 Part of a workshop of natural dyes in collaboration with the community cultural center to enrich my knowledge and innovate new techniques of dyeing.

September 2022 Participate in a workshop with wool felting techniques taught by Master Andrea Lafourcade

September 2024 Participate in the contest of young people of excellence by the institution of cultural promotion (FOFA)

ARTIST INFORMATION

Aldama #11 seccion 1,

Teotitlán del Valle, Oaxaca 70420  

 cel 95 1109 5429  tel 95 1195 3306 

eliza.zate@gmail.com 

webpage: www.flickr.com/people/
rugsartmanosabuela     

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