Follow an Africa Cloth to Peru and back
Posted June 1, 2020 @ 5:39pm | by Melanie
The rug design started with a visit to my friend Sam’s second home in Galisteo, NM. Sam introduced me to the magical area of the SW shortly after she had joined my Peru trip in 2009. Galisteo is a vibrant arts community near Santa Fe. Her adobe home was built by this colorful character Ken, mud from the bottom up, pure adobe! Incredible architecture that Sam filled with her generous spirit, and a great art collection.
The beds In the guest casita had Mali Mud Cloths from Africa for bedspreads. I’ve always loved Mud Cloths. Over the course of three or four visits ( lucky me), I fixated on the mud cloths geometric pattern and envisioned them in an assortment of natural dye colors. Mud Cloths are usually in a combination of brown, black and cream, they beckoned to be redone in plant based colors, which would retain their organic character.
So we did a 4 x 6 and a 10 ft runner and they turned out well. When Jan & Ellen saw them displayed at the Mill City Market, they commissioned one for their NY kitchen, small space..what to eliminate, the middle design! The solid field of color in the middle is not really solid. Natural dye never is, it should always reveal the irregularities of the hand spun & hand dyed wool. It’s wonderful to design around these features. These are the steps that make an ArtAndes rug unique.
It turned out so well, Sam ordered one for her Mpls kitchen in memory of Galisteo! I had also ordered two extra runners in anticipation of a robust art market season, and that rug design blessed me with my first curbside rug sale last weekend!
Gracias Sam & Galisteo!
#1 The original, # 2 NY condo, # 3 Sams, # 4 Ann Curbside
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