They met after Debby had been living in Zirahuen for about a year. As Debby tells it,
"Franco seemed as anxious as I was to 'energize' his time in Zirahuen. He was learning how to work with the government of Michoacán. He had developed a government project to add bedrooms to houses where people were sleeping in smoky kitchens. Since most cooking is done on wood stoves, bedrooms reduce health risks associated with inhaling wood smoke."After a couple of years, Franco approached Debby. He wanted to let her know that he had interested the Michoacán government in funding a project to develop a collective embroidery piece depicting scenic Lake Zirahuen. The finished piece would hang in the tenencia, government office.
Franco asked Debby to teach a class of crewel embroidery to a group of women and manage the collective project. The government would pay for the supplies.
On Mother's Day a year ago, Debby joined a large group of women and children for a movie and snacks. Before the movie began, she showed her crewel embroidery, and Franco announced that Debby would teach a class at the tenencia beginning the following Tuesday.
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| 'Temporary', Crewel Embroidery, Debby Breckeen |
Here's Debby's account of what happened next:
"The next Tuesday, 43 women signed up!
"I asked that there be four, one-hour classes twice a week—two classes per day.
"Then I noticed that the young woman who was organizing the ladies into groups was taking great care to assure that no one would be in a group with anyone she and her family had 'issues' with. Seeing her distress, I realized that collaboration on a common project was not likely.
"The government support never materialized. But the ladies came!"
P'urhépecha Artisan Tradition
It bears mentioning that the P'urhépecha people, a proud and linguistically distinct people, were never conquered by the Aztecs, who were given to regular military forays onto P'urhépecha lands in search of slaves and victims for sacrifice.
The Purhépecha are also a pragmatic people. When the P'urhépecha king learned that the Spanish had defeated the Aztecs, he sent a delegation with a message for Cortés, "We do not want to fight you. We accept your god and your king."
The Purhépecha are also a pragmatic people. When the P'urhépecha king learned that the Spanish had defeated the Aztecs, he sent a delegation with a message for Cortés, "We do not want to fight you. We accept your god and your king."
Their cooperation, alas, did not inoculate the P'urhépecha people from the worst excesses of the Spanish military. Fortunately, Vasco de Quiroga arrived to become the region's first bishop. 'Tata Vasco' ['Father Vasco' in P'urhépecha] was a humane man who sought to protect the indigenous people from the Spanish soldiers. He is beloved, even venerated, to this day.
To leaders of the P'urhépecha community, Bishop Quiroga explained that it was essential for them to learn how to become self-sufficient under Spanish rule. To accomplish this goal, he assigned a craft to each pueblo in the Lake Pátzcuaro area. Present-day P'urhépecha artisans say that Bishop Quiroga merely formalized pre-existing craft specialties—the pueblo of Santa Clara del Cobre, for example, had been working with copper long before arrival of the Spanish.
The artesanía [folk art] of Michoacán enjoys an international reputation. In Morelia, the state capital, the Casa de las Artesanías showcases and sells the work of the state's artisans.
The Spanish also introduced European materials, tools and techniques to indigenous artisans. Guitars and other stringed instruments of international quality, for example, are now made in Paracho located up on the P'urhépecha Meseta, or Highlands.
Creating Something Different....
This is the artisan tradition that Debby was entering, but as she writes:
"Most of the embroidery in this area is deshilado (Pulled-Thread) in which fabric threads are pulled or bundled together by embroidery stitches, creating an open, lace-like effect."
Detail: Deshilado,
'Pulled-Thread' embroidery
"And also punta cruz bordado (Cross-Stitch or Cross-Point) in which the stitcher makes a pattern by carefully counting the threads of fabric in each direction so the stitches are of uniform size and appearance."
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| Detail: Punta de cruz bordado, 'Cross-Stitch' |
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| Detail: Cross-Stitch |
"Most P'urhépecha women are skilled at these two methods of embroidery. They make serviettes, napkins, for christenings and birthdays that are usually cross-point done with synthetic thread on synthetic fabric with a bright crochet border. Many people use them to cover tortillas served from a special pot. But most of the women had never tried to invent anything from fabric and thread."
During a recent chat, Debby mentioned that her intent in teaching the classes was to offer the ladies of Zirahuen a way to distinguish their bordado, embroidery, from the bordado produced in other pueblos. Then she added,
"I teach crewel stitches, but I don't mess with their kick-ass aesthetic. I love their creativity so I just stand aside and watch it flower."
Classes Began Last June (2011)
Debby supplied patterns and fabric, the local muslin called manta. The ladies bought their own hoops, needles and thread. Debby made only two strong 'suggestions', that the women, please:
- Use cotton thread and material—no synthetics; and
- Avoid Disney characters in their patterns—Mexico's pop culture is fascinated by Disney.
Since the groups were large, Debby taught three women the more complicated stitches. They would then go back to the circle and teach another three. Everyone became a teacher.
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| Learning by doing...and learning from each other |
Debby recalls,
"Many women dropped out. Four groups became two….then one two-hour class each week. Today a core group of fifteen women, aged from 20-something to 83, meet weekly for two hours.
"The class became a circle. Ana Lilia keeps the library of patterns and fabric at her house. Each person chooses how to use her time and the available materials. If she needs new supplies, she knocks on Ana’s door to get to the library.
"After we had a sampler of about twenty different stitches, we began sewing a simple pattern of a single flower. Each person could choose whatever color and stitch she wanted."
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| First Simple Pattern already shows the inherent creativity. |
"Then we worked on larger, more complicated patterns. The ladies began to join patterns together and invent some of their own imagery. Their skill was incredible and becoming more personal."
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| Cuca's Tablecloth Fishing in Lake Zirahuén is an important part of Zirahuén culture, so it isnt surprising that many women are embroidering fish. For Cuca, a field of fruits and vegetables is surrounded by water...and fish. |
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| Detail: Cuca has surrounded her field of fruits and vegetables with a verdant border labeled Refugio, refuge. In this work, Cuca has created a sanctuary—a quiet place set aside from life's daily chores and cares. |
"But every Tuesday we gather in the tenencia and sew together. I come at 4:00 PM and leave at 6:00 PM. If no one is there at 4:30, I go home. So usually one or two women come before 4:30 and report who will be coming later to 'hold the class'!"
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| Berta has just removed her bordado from the embroidery hoop. |
"When we had been sewing together for six months, I took twenty-two pieces of their work to The Alternative Fair in Erongarícuaro."
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| Esmeralda: Stitching'n ... chatting...a welcome break from daily chores |
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| Detail from Esmeralda's Fish The colors are knock-your-socks off alive! |
Prices ranged from 80 pesos [about US$6.00] for their first small design to 350 pesos [about US$26] for larger, more personal pieces.
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| Detail from Ana's fish So different from Esmeralda's fish, more introspective, reflective.... |
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| Ires's Cross The creative and cultural complexity of this piece is stunning. The basic shape is that of a quincunx—the form traditionally used to represent the Mesoamerican cosmovision. The top point of the vertical represents east (rising sun); the bottom point represents west (setting sun). The horizontal line represents the earthly plane, where daily lives are lived. The point where all lines intersect at the center represents the axis mundi, world axis, center of the world. According to traditional beliefs, priests in altered states of consciousness pass along the axis mundi between the three planes of existence: Earthly plane; the Heaven (above), and the Underworld (below). Ires has even stitched the three concentric circles that represent the 'center' in the Mesoamerican tradition. It fascinates me that inside the circle—as if it were being viewed through a magnifying glass—the horizontal band is slightly elevated. |
"We sold almost all the pieces! This money would recoup the cost of the more expensive thread and fabric. And it would do more than that….
"The circle now has a purpose. It is not a cooperative that wholesales and sews collaboratively designs made by others...where one woman does the clouds, another the water, another the fish, etc. It is a chance for each stitcher to sew what she likes at her own speed with the possibility of making a small profit to buy more thread.
"What attracts me about crewel work is that it is a freer type of embroidery. Once the pattern is chosen, the piece is completed by drawing on the stitcher's imagination in choosing colors and stitches...perhaps even building a texture relief on top of the fabric...like what the ladies have done with their fishes.Debby Reflects Back....
"That’s where we are now. Hopefully, we will all return to The Fair together for a fun day of music, food and profit."
"As an immigrant, I am not allowed to make money in Mexico. But the commitment to this group has given me the structure and responsibility I had been craving since I retired in 2007. I now feel more embedded in the community. When I drive through town, people wave and call out, 'Buenos días'.
"I have to think in Spanish in order to communicate (awkwardly, but surely) with this group of ladies. I ask them to correct me when I err (often), and they do! At least once a month, I am asked to relate yet again the tale of why and how I am here without children or a husband....
"And the children…at least two accompany each lady to the group. They play with each other while we sew. When the group began, Claudia sewed while nursing Antonio, her six-week-old baby. He will walk soon."
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| Antonio is almost the same age as the group... One Year in June! |
Ana says Nancy (sporting sunglasses and a broken cellphone) and her sister, Daniela, are always jumping on the bed saying…"I’m Devi!" - "No…I’m Devi!"Jenny's Note: As Debby and I were putting finishing touches on this post, I almost had to write to her calling, "Uncle"! What on earth is 'Devi'—then it came to me: Devi is Debby spelled in phonetic Spanish. "B" and "v" are pronounced exactly the same way in Spanish, so when Mexican schoolkids are learning how to spell, they quickly learn to ask, " 'b' as in burro, or 'v' as in vaca (cow)"?
Then Debby wrote to tell me that the group had written on her birthday cake, Felicidades, Devi—'Happy Birthday, Debby'. Is anyone else getting the idea that Debby is a beloved figure in this group?
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| Children of Zirahuen: Daniela and her friend, Nancy pestering her cousin Daniel, and Carlos, looking a bit stunned. |
Guapo, 'handsome', Daniel...is forever bringing
Debby 'stuff' he finds in the street...an
abandoned dinosaur sticker or lost gold star.
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Augustine is so small the kids all make fun of him calling him bebesota, little baby.
Elia has four daughters, Juliana, Andrea, Iris and Claudia. They all have children who sometimes come. Elia’s grandchildren are very quiet just like their mothers.
So today, after many spent ink cartridges, hours spent on the internet searching for new patterns, failed negotiations for exhibition venues, and letting go of all kinds of expectations, I now relax and let the group be itself.
Sometimes we’ll be quietly sewing and someone tells a story that gets all sorts of snorts and whistles. Sometimes there are questions and reviews. Everyone seems normal….sometimes tired, sometimes nervous, sometimes agitated with their children.
But we are together...trying to make something personal and beautiful.
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| Ladies Sewing Circle of Zirahuen, Michoacán First Row (left to right): Ana Lilia, Debby, Chelo Back Row (left to right): Lupe, Carmela, Cuca, Mireya |
Related Jenny's posts:
- Art and Friendship in Zirahuén, Michoacán introduces the crewel-embroidery art of Debby Breckeen.
- Debra Breckeen's Embroidery Art and the Art of Seeing is a review of the exhibition at the Cultural Center at the Former Jusuit College held April 4 to May 4, 2014, in Pátzcuaro, Michoacán.
- Teotihuacán II: The Shape of Space and Time explains the role of the form of the quincunx in Mesoamerican culture.
- Jenny's Neighborhood: Making Friends Mexico City-style has a short description of Debby's recommended method for framing embroidery pieces (bordados) for optimal effect.
- Alternative and Organic Fair in Arocutín describes the fair—since moved to nearby Erongarícuaro—where Debby and the ladies found eager buyers for their bordados.
- Multicultural, Multidisciplinary Art Show: Artists and Indigenous Bordadoras (Embroiderers) Join Aesthetics describes the exhibit titled Hasta Mostla, Until Mostla, scheduled to open August 23, 2012, at the Spanish Cultural Center in Mexico City. The exhibit is a multidisciplinary project that gathers together the drawing, photography and video contributions of seven artists from Mexico, Spain and Latin America, who lived for two months in the traditional community of Joltocán in the Huasteca Region, State of Hidalgo. The focus was on traditional indigenous embroidery; the artists focused their artistic creations on the interactions within this group of women from very different backgrounds who nonetheless share the same need to communicate their surroundings through their art.
For more about Debby Breckeen's life in Michoacán, including videos of parades in Pátzcuaro, Google this—d.breckeen@Flickr—then take your pick...and Enjoy!
From the international citizen's blog Global Voices comes this post:
- English: Embroidering for Peace: Threads, needles and fabrics have become warriors for peace in Mexico. In cities like Monterrey, Guadalajara and Mexico City, men and women of all ages have decided to speak out and share their thoughts and experiences on violence by participating in a collective relief effort through embroidery.
- Español: México: Bordando por la paz: Hilos, agujas y telas se han convertido en guerreros de la paz en México. En ciudades como Monterrey, Guadalajara y Ciudad de México, hombres y mujeres de todas las edades han decidido hablar y compartir sus ideas y experiencias sobre la violencia participando en un esfuerzo colectivo de labor humanitaria a través del bordado.
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