WEAVING, TEXTILES AND CRAFT TOUR ** THE SEQUEL Well, our sequel is just that. A requested follow up to our popular Weaving, Textiles and Craft Tour. Except, unlike with the movies, it is an even more interesting and in-depth look at weaving communities in Guatemala. We travel further and to more fascinating locations. We visit more small cooperatives, giving our participants an even more intimate experience.

Of course, we can't skip LAKE ATITLAN. It is incredibly beautiful and there are plenty of lakeside villages to explore. There are more projects to visit now, particularily around SANTIAGO ATITLAN and PANABAJ, where the mudslides caused by Hurricane Stan in 2005 had a brutal effect. So we'll spend a few days there before heading back to Antigua, a delightful small town with an international ambiance and fabulous shopping (all those textiles!), wonderful outdoor cafŽs and restarants, but as throughout all of Guatemala, most importantly, warm-hearted, welcoming people.

*** It is not necessary to have been on the original tour to join us on this one. It is simply a different itinerary and open to all appreciators of fine textiles with an adventuresome spirit. Join us for a heartfelt, life-changing experience !!

BACKSTRAP WEAVING - We offer one on one backstrap weaving instruction with local indigenous weavers. You can either take the classes in our instructor's home - which is a fabulous opportunity to not only learn to weave, but also to spend time with a Guatemalan family, experiencing indigenous life in a small village, on a day to day basis - or in a courtyard in Antigua.

If you are an experienced weaver, you'll learn centuries-old techniques that you've admired in Guatemalan weavings for years. If you are a novice, we've told our instructors to begin at the beginning, and teach you as they do their young daughters - who begin to weave around the age of 9 years. And for those who want to improve or simply maintain their Spanish language skills -- it's a lot more fun that sitting in a classroom for half a day !! You'll improve your Spanish, just by being around it!!

Our instructors do not speak English, so some basic Spanish is very helpful for this class. However, since weaving is something you learn by demonstration, not by explaination, don't let your lack of Spanish stop you from this great experience. Just don't forget your dictionary!!

One of our participants, Kennerly Clay (pictured above) wrote a story called "Backstrapped" about her experience with us - click here if you'd like to read it. BACKSTRAPPED

Participants taking backstrap weaving stay with our participants from other workshops, so you have other like minded folks to buddy around with. We provide transportation to the village, and the backstrap loom, threads and additional helpful teaching materials are all included.

All of our instructors live in a small village called San Antonia Aguas Caliente or its neighbor Santa Catarina Barahona. Both are well known for their excellent textiles and beautiful huipils and are located just 20 minutes outside Antigua. Our instructors include Elda Lidia Tarton de Santos and along with her sisters Vilma Carmelina, Odilia and her daughter Lesbia Edelmira..

We base out of the beautiful old colonial capital of ANTIGUA, with field trips, lectures by local experts, and demonstrations - along with a typical meal with a local family in a nearby village. We also go into Guatemala City for a behind the scenes special tour of Museo Ixchel, Guatemala's ethnic costume museum, as well as some magnificent fabric stores. We also spend time in the western highlands -- the heart of the Mayan indigenous world - and home to spectacularly gorgeous Lake Atitlan. We spend time in Santiago Atitlan and other lake villages, visiting weaver's cooperatives and learning about some of their inspiring community development projects. This tour is appropriate for appreciators of fine fabrics - as well as those who make them.

WEAVING, TEXTILES AND CRAFT TOUR # 3 ** EXPLORING THE VILLAGES OF LAKE ATITLAN Ok - now we have enough folks who have joined us for the first two tours, that they've taken over and are sending us their dreams for yet ANOTHER itinerary (it's those three M's) ... exploring the villages surrounding lovely Lake Atitlan. WHAT A GREAT IDEA !! Karen and I worked out a great itinerary and ran this tour in November of 2006. It was wonderful - to be honest better than either of us expected. So, we'll do it again as soon as we can. We based out of Santiago Atitlan (at the lovely Posada), but visited weavers and coops in San Lucas Toliman, Santa Catarina Polopo, San Antonio Polopo, can't miss the wonderful natural dye experience in San Juan la Laguna and also San Marcos. This tour will be a little more relaxed than the first two, and we'll still spend a few days in Antigua before sending you back home. I just can't wait to see what ideas our folks will have after we've offered this one!!!!

WEAVING, TEXTILES AND CRAFT TOUR # 4 ** EXPLORING THE IXIL TRIANGLE Well, this will be the next itinerary. Liza has taken a few photography classes up to the Nebaj, Chajul and San Juan Cotzal area, and they've been fabulous experiences. Something new and different, and even more remote, for all those who want to come back with us, but want to see new parts of Guatemala. Or, of course, anyone with an adventurous spirit. !!! Watch for it in 2009.

NATURAL DYE FOR COTTON AND HARD FIBERS - Ever thought that the old traditional methods of dying fibers had been lost - along with so many other ancient arts?? Nowadays, Guatemalan indigenous weavers buy their factory-made threads at local markets. But you can learn how the Mayans dyed locally grown cotton centuries ago during this unique and exciting hands-on workshop.

You will begin by gathering and learning about local plants, flowers and roots that provide various kinds of colors of dyes. You'll work with the Cochineal (cocus-cacti) which is an insect. Instructor Olga Reiche will demonstrate how to work with three types of dyes: tanine, vat dyes and dyes with mordent. Students will complete a sampler of all the various dyes and fibers they've worked with. Bring rubber gloves or be prepared for an interesting pair of hands at the end of each day!!!

BEAD EMBROIDERY / PAINTING WITH SEED BEADS - Have you ever wanted to use seed beads in a painterly way?? Learn to create new colors in your beadwork by placing various colored seedbeads side by side to create the visual effect of different colors. Fiber and bead artist and popular instructor Gayle Liman will demonstrate the color techniques of pointillism, gradation, chroma bridges and simultaneous contrast using seed beads and a needle and thread. Gayle begins by discussing color theory and students will create a grey scale, a color wheel and chroma bridge in preparation to complete their final project - a bead embroidered tapestry.

Participants will do more than work with beads during this workshop. Gayle is an enthusiastic instructor who wants to share the Guatemala she loves with her students. You'll keep an artist's journal to record your journey during this art and cultural adventure. Gayle will lead you in exercises in visual imagery and help you transfer this imagery into art. She will also accompany you to local Mayan markets. The 'huipiles' worn by indigenous women and other woven goods found there often initiate discussions on design and color, not to mention provide inspiration for your own new creations. Gayle draws on her wide experience in colors, design, weaving and beaded needle techniques to help students create from the colorful environment around them. This workshop is appropriate for all who love the arts and want to combine learning with a rich cultural experience. Join us !!!