Last month, our Making and Knowing Project had the privilege of hosting expert dyers and weavers Bertha Estrada Huipe and her son Mateo Estrada Rodriguez from Michoacán, Mexico! Over a 10-day visit, they shared their knowledge through a number of hands-on learning sessions with students, public events, and weaving demonstrations.
Bertha specializes in making rebozos, multipurpose shawls woven on the backstrap loom and often adorned with feathers and fringes. Rebozos have a long history across Indigenous peoples in Mexico, but Purépecha dyeing and weaving practices were fading before being revitalized by Bertha's mother-in-law, Cecilia Bautista Caballero. Bertha has continued Cecilia's work for over 35 years, training her children and grandchildren in an effort to preserve this intangible heritage. Students in the Making and Knowing Project's laboratory seminar got to experience this practice firsthand as they worked alongside Bertha to create natural dyes from coconut husks, marigold flowers, and oak tree bark. Yarn colored with plants, insects, and minerals then makes its way to the loom.
The weaving process is a study in contradictions: requiring a delicate touch and brute force, a repetitive practice that demands constant attention, and creating a visual art that is guided more by touch than vision. As Bertha adds row after row to her loom, she's embedding her environmental knowledge and cultural heritage into each garment. And while these dyeing and weaving practices are steeped in generational practices, they aren't static; Bertha is always experimenting and adapting to her local environment.
Above, you can watch a quick overview of Bertha's weaving process. And stay tuned as we share more videos and graphics from Bertha and Mateo's visit.
