Wool Poncho

Now residing over the guest bed, this poncho is about five feet long. It's made of natural wool, still in oil. "Still in oil" means it is supposed to be waterproof, since the natural lanolin has not been scrubbed out of it. Nor has it been carded to make it fuzzy or soft. I wanted it to be just like the native ponchos were made--to use as covering and protection from the elements.

This piece dates from 1960. I made it in a poncho factory in Guanajuato, Mexico when I went there on scholarship for summer study. The loom I used was a commercial one, all handmade and massive, very old and located in a large adobe building. The loom had a bar in front of the breast-beam that was there for the worker to sit on while they wove. I could barely reach the treadles.

My 'maestro' or teacher, showed me how to weave in the design after I drew it out for him to show what I wanted to do. The crosses are symbolic of all the crosses I saw on the mountain tops while traveling in Mexico. They were the very devil to do for a beginning weaver.

My shuttle was very large and handmade. The wool was wound around flexible bamboo like spools. The would spring to fit into the holes drilled at the center of the shuttle.

The fringes are knotted in the tradition of the factory.

The factory was halfway up the mountain side. (Guanajuato sits beautifully in a valley. It is a very old colonial town.) After hiking up there, pounding the wool into place and then hiking down to the house where I stayed, I would be famished. I would stop by the Mercado, a large open-air market, and buy a mango or a piece of pan dulce (sweet roll) to munch on. No wonder I gained 10 lbs. by the time I came home!