About this episode
Fiber artist Mary Anne Wise first went to Guatemala hoping to collect local textiles and inspire her own practice. Just one visit wasn’t enough, and she visited several more times, eventually offering a class in rug hooking to local women artisans. Although the women didn’t have a rug-hooking tradition, they did have abundant material: tons of tee shirts from “donations” that are often shipped to the area, discarded, and burned. After the success of that first class, the idea of creating a cottage industry that would benefit women throughout Guatemala took hold. Called Multicolores, the project is now a nonprofit organization officially recognized in Guatemala. The women join the program to support their families and improve their living conditions. And although many of them cannot read or write, all have something to say through the work of their hands. Mary Anne developed a curriculum of design principles that helped the women market their work in the international market. Although some are also weavers, not all of the women were producing textiles before joining the program. Drawing on family stories and cultural influences as well as their own imaginations, they design hooked rugs and other pieces that find their way to buyers around the world. Mary Anne and her coauthor, Cheryl Conway-Daly, told the story of Multicolores in a book, Rug Money. In the United States, drawing on their love of fabric and experience in interior design, Mary Anne and a friend decided to start a home goods shop specializing in artisan cloth. Based in Wisconsin, Cultural Cloth offers the handwork of artisans not only from Multicolores but from 30 countries worldwide. Although they have sold the shop to new owners, Mary Anne continues to work there one day a week . . . and the inspiration for her own fiber art that initially led her to Guatemala has begun to rise again. Links Multicolores website The Art of Being exhibit website Rug hooking tour with Multicolores Rug Money: How a Group of Maya Women Changed Their Lives through Art and Innovation by Mary Anne Wise, Cheryl Conway-Daly, and Joe Coca Cultural Cloth shop Mary Anne Wise’s textile art website This episode is brought to you by: Treenway Silks is where weavers, spinners, knitters and stitchers find the silk they love. Select from the largest variety of silk spinning fibers, silk yarn, and silk threads & ribbons at TreenwaySilks.com . You’ll discover a rainbow of colors, thoughtfully hand-dyed in Colorado. Love natural? Treenway's array of wild silks provide choices beyond white. If you love silk, you’ll love Treenway Silks, where superior quality and customer service are guaranteed. Brown Sheep Company is a four-generation family business bringing you high quality wool and natural fiber yarns. We spin and dye U.S.-grown wool into hundreds of vibrant colors at our mill in western Nebraska. Our mill has something to offer for every craft, from our well-known knitting and crochet yarns to wool roving for spinning and felting. We offer U.S-made needlepoint yarn as well as yarn on cones for weaving. Learn more about our company and products at BrownSheep.com . Have you heard of The Woolly Thistle? We’re a brick-and-click yarn shop specializing in non-superwash, woolly wool yarns from the UK and Europe. We have fast and free shipping and you can check us out at TheWoollyThistle.com , two L’s in Woolly. (And let us do the international shipping and tariffs, so you don’t have to.)