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Yarn Paintings
The rugged mountains and remote villages of the Sierra de Nayarit north of Guadalajara are the homeland of roughly ten to fourteen thousand Huichol Indians. These were among the last tribes to come under Spanish rule, and their religion still is essentially pagan, revolving around several important agricultural deities. Deer is the most sacred of all animals, its blood a symbol of fertility. Corn is the source of all life, for it was Nacahue, mother of all gods, who gave corn to the first man for planting, and from it was born the first Huichol woman. Peyote is a means of communication with the gods, and the consumption of peyote by the Huichol people is a deeply religious experience. The unity of these three elements – deer, corn, and peyote – is the absolute core of Huichol beliefs.
The Huichols express these feelings through their art, which is made not from the standpoint of decoration, but to give profound expression to deep spiritual beliefs. This makes traditional Huichol art, whether it be meticulous beadwork, yarn paintings, wooden masks, or striking embroidered and woven personal adornments, beautiful not only from its aesthetic standpoint but from the psychological as well.
La Fuente Imports is proud to offer one of the most imaginative collections of Huichol Indian yarn paintings available anywhere on the web. Each "painting" is made first by spreading a thin layer of beeswax over a flat piece of wood, and then meticulously pushing thin strands of acrylic yarn into the wax to create complex patterns and symbols. Detailed captions written by the artist to help explain the painting’s story are translated on the back into English, and every order also includes a short brochure that summarizes the significance of the symbols. It is these symbols that tell the story of each piece, and are a precious legacy worthy of preservation because they remain so unmistakably Native American in a larger world that becomes more and more uniform with each passing day. |
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