Transcending Language

I had a moment today. I was feeling overwhelmed. A little anxious. I went outside and took a long break. I sat in the middle of the garden outside our school. Cried, wrote in my journal, drew, sat quietly. I went back inside, wiped the tears off my face, and then sat down at the loom with Jorgé.

Jorgé and I don't speak the same language, but he taught me. It was tough at first. But then I started to get it. It was all coming together. I wasn't thinking about anything. My hand was moving back and forth. We were beautifully working together ... in a rhythm, only communicating through craft, and not needing any language.

I stumbled away from the loom an hour and a half later. My feet were sore. My head was spinning with delight. I had a moment with Jorgé, with the loom. And there were really no words exchanged. Ah, the universal language of making.

Jorgé made this for me:

Guatemala Day 2: Natural Dyeing and Mosquito Bites

The good news is that I have been in Guatemala for 2 days and haven't gotten sick [yet]. The other good news is that today was our first day at Indigo. Indigo is a textiles center in Antigua ... the only school in Guatemala that teaches students and local artisans how to natural dye with no chemicals.

Pictured here are the rug weaver artisans from Momosenango that will be working with us:

This is my favorite artisan ... he wouldn't stop smiling. I love him.

First, we had to wash and weigh the fleece and thread that the artisans brought with them from Momostenango in order to prepare it to be dyed.



And here are a few shots of us preparing the dye material ... including coconut (brown), eucalyptus, Indigo (blue) , Cyprus (light brown), pomegranate (yellow), Arragan (light green) and lots more ...



Cochineal ... a beetle! Used for red dye:


Some of us today:

I'm sitting outside right now and being eaten by mosquitoes ... gotta go. xoxox