Guatemala: May 2000 Kalley Lucero and I took a trip to Guatemala in conjunction with the National Museum of the American Indian’s exhibition, "Woven by the Grandmothers". The journey was a very rewarding and an educational trip. We spent several days in Coban, a small weaving village north of Guatemala City. We spent many hours observing and exchanging cultural information with the Q’uechi people. We also shared a lot of information about our weaving styles and techniques.

I tried my hands at weaving on a backstrap loom. It felt awkward at first but the Q’uechi women show us by using hand gesture as I didn't speak Quechi. It felt comfortable after weaving several rows of the bird motifs. I enjoyed weaving on the backstrap loom.

This Q’uechi weaver was very fascinated by the Navajo loom, she was especially intrigued by how the warp was attached to the loom, she enjoyed working on the Navajo vertical loom.

Peru: October 2000 The people, the mountains, and the colors in the land were absolutely beautiful. I visited Peru for a cultural exchange and to meet weavers. Peruvian textiles have always fascinated me. I loved learning about the history of Peruvian textiles.

A young Quechi weaver winding hand-spun yarn into a skein.

Local weavers of Chinchero dyeing yarn in eucalyptus leaves simmering in a dye pot on a an open fire. The result is yarn with a rich brown color.

A local supplier of natural dye products at an Indian market. I bought Peruvian cochineal and indigo dyes to compare them with those I buy in the United States.

I spent a day observing weavers spinning, plying, and dyeing yarn. I found the plying method very interesting and very different from the Navajo technique.

Corsica 2001 Before I went to Corsica The only thing I knew about the island was in reference to Napoleon Bonaparte. Lena Benally and I spent 7 days in Corsica as special guests of Antoine & Renee Luciani in St. Nicola. The trip was a cultural exchange to share ideas and stories about sheep and weaving with Corsican shepherds and weavers.

Salicetu: A small village tucked away in the mountains, where many of the Corsican traditions are still a part of their lives today. This area is referred to as the land of the chestnut trees. For the Corsicans the chestnut tree is considered the "Tree of Life".

Agnes Simon Pietri: Weaver, spinner and director of Lana Corsa, a small, local weaving shop. She is demonstrating spinning on a traditional spindle, called Ancinu. It is a very simple tool made out of a twig from a tree in her back yard. it is often used to spin coarse yarn for rope making.

Lena Benally: Navajo Weaver and Shepherdess, experimenting with the Ancinu spindle. She is spinning mohair which will be used to braid ropes.

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