Guatemalan women make rug-hooking their own
Rug-hooking transforms women’s lives in Guatemala
The hand-hooked rugs of Multicolores echo the cosmology of the Mayans.
Bold colors paired with graphic designs of birds, volcanos and ancient symbolism first led these rugs to the Santa Fe International Folk Art Market in 2014. Today, they also can be found at multicolores. org.
These descendents of the ancient Maya live in Guatemala, where the rug-hooking technique is new. Between 2009 and 2012, Multicolores’ co-founder, Mary Anne Wise, an American rug-hooker and teacher, instructed the women in the art form as a new opportunity for income generation. The women traditionally worked in embroidery and back strap weaving.
“It’s not native to the culture,” Multicolores’ co-founder Cheryl Conway said in a telephone interview from New York. “The important thing was to draw cultural connections. They derive inspiration for the rugs from their Mayan dress ‘traje.’”
The artists take much of their design inspiration from ‘huipils,’ traditional blouses. Rich with imagery, scattered with ancient symbols and motifs, they represent Mayan cosmovision, femininity and nature.
“Historically, it was very villagespecific,” Conway said. “You could tell which village she lived in.”
The artists also reference the Semana Santa (Easter week) rugs that have decorated the streets of Guatemala for hundreds of years.
The fabric comes from 100% recycled clothing, mainly cotton T-shirts found in local secondhand stores. The artists slice the clothing into strips and, using a crochet hook with a handle, pull them through a ground cloth stretched by a frame, the loops filling in the motif. Most of the clothing arrives on palettes by the container load, donated from people in the United States. This year, the women have used more than 5,000 garments to create Multicolores products.
Most of the 36 women live in rural areas where their husbands work in agriculture or building.
“Over time, a lot of the women bring in more than 50% of their household income from rugs,”
Conway said.
The artists say rug-hooking changed their lives.
“There are two Rosmerys,” said Rosmery Pacheco, 24, of Chiyax, Guatemala. “The one before the rug-hooking project was timid and lived in a dark box. She cleaned
houses, barely scraping by. I didn’t believe I had the strength or the skills to overcome my situation. But then I learned to rug hook and it opened my mind. I discovered a talent I never knew I had, I lost the fear of expressing myself, I became more confident.”
“When I hear you use the word ‘artist’ about me, it elevates me,” 31-year-old Bartola Morales Tol, of San Jorge La Laguna, said. “When people look at my rug, I want them to see the happiness, the emotion, the time that I have dedicated to it. I seek inspiration in things that make me feel happy, like birds, flowers and nature. My life has changed, I discovered a talent I never knew I had. I no longer have to conform to my father’s view of me.”
Glendy Muj, 36, of Patanatic, cited her improved quality of life.
“My children are in school; the eldest wants to go to university,” she said . “We are able to go to the doctor more frequently and buy medicine. With income from my first rug, I bought a sink so now I can do the family’s laundry at home rather than carrying heavy loads to the communal sink. We have made improvements to our home, we now have a concrete floor and windows. My children see me as a role model; they see that, without education and just a few opportunities, I have achieved much. This makes me happy because they know that with an education they will be able to reach further than I could.”