The Huichol (pronounced Wee-chole) people today are still considered an unreached people group with only 15% of them Christian. They live in the Sierra Madre mountain range in Mexico. They moved into these secluded areas in the 1500s when the Spanish arrived in Mexico. Due to their isolation in this region, their legends and art forms have been highly preserved. One of their art forms is the use of Huichol yarn paintings. These “paintings” are used to record visions, dreams, myths and prayers of the artist. Because the Huichol people have only recently developed a written language, they have used symbols on storyboards to express their religious and cultural traditions. As a result, these artists can be viewed as modern day scribes.
Some of the symbols that are important to the Huichol people include pictures of animals, plants and people. Examples may include:
- a deer (a main source of food)
- a man
- the sun (symbol of life)
To create these story boards, the Huichol artist use a wooden board and a thin mixture of beeswax and pine resin. They spread the mixture onto the board. Strands of brightly colored yarn are placed carefully to create the design. These very detailed paintings are colorful, beautiful, and very time-consuming to create.
Today we are going to create our own version of Huichol yarn painting!
What you’ll need:
- download paint templates – Deer, Man, Sun and print on colored cardstock.
- liquid glue
- coordinating colors of yarn, cut into lengths of approximately 1 yard; approximately 3 yards are needed for each project
- scissors
- toothpicks
- paintbrushes (optional)
- small paper plates for glue (optional)
- completed samples of Huichol yarn paintings:
These patterns increase in difficulty, from the deer (easy), to the man (medium), to the sun (hard). Therefore, the youngest students will have the most success with the simpler pattern. In addition, students will vary in their ability to follow lines in applying the yarn. This is fine. It is acceptable to just place glue on the patterns and allow students to place yarn as they are able.
Let’s get started! The first step is to apply glue. There are two methods for doing this. The first option is to use a paintbrush and paint a moderate amount of glue onto the outline of the pattern (if the glue is too thin, the yarn will not stick. More is better in this case.) Another option for applying glue; however, is to squeeze the bottle and lay down a bead or line of glue. Parent or teacher assistance may be required for this.
Continue working your way to the inside by painting glue in a small area and placing yarn on the glue, following the lines of the pattern as closely as possible. Toothpicks can be used to help with placement as needed.
Pray that as students learn about the Huichol culture, God will raise up someone to go to the Huichol, not to change their culture, but to offer life and light that can infuse their culture.