Mayan Hands' dear friend and weaver extraordinaire Sarah Saulson is in Guatemala right now, working with our artisan partners in San Rafael. Together they explored ideas about combining colors and now Sarah is teaching them the technique of painting warps. How do you paint a warp? The weavers first learn to mix their colors starting with a few primary hues. Then, once the loom is warped, the weavers apply colors freely on it with a brush, creating patters in spontaneous and expressive ways. Finally, after the dye is set, they weave the piece to finish it, often with extraordinary results.

We can’t wait to see how the talented weavers of San Rafael use this new technique to make their textiles even more interesting and beautiful. We'll share photos from the workshop and the resulting products in a future post.

We are so lucky to have such a loving and dedicated teacher. Sarah started weaving as a child in Ann Arbor, Michigan and her passion for weaving continues to this day. Sarah has an art degree, as well as an anthropology degree, which fueled her interest in learning about ethnic textiles and techniques. It is out of this interest, and her membership in Weave a Real Peace (WARP), an organization that works with textile artists from all over the world, that Sarah connected with Mayan Hands.

Sarah is a weaving professor at Syracuse University. She also teaches weaving workshops for children and adults. She weaves special items on order and sells her handwoven fashion accessories at juried craft shows. Many of her wonderful weaving projects have appeared in Handwoven Magazine. You can see more of her work at www.SarahSaulson.com.