The Huichol Center

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i spent some WOW days recently at The Huichol Center in huejuquilla el alto designing the new HUICHOL LOVE bracelet line.

Look out, y'all.

HUICHOL LOVE earrings

The Alchymista Shop is up and running!

A portion of the HUICHOL LOVE earring collection is now available online!

I've also created a Facebook Page for HUICHOL LOVE.

We'll be living in Mexico soon! 21 days 'til takeoff....

the alchymista signature

> > huejuquilla <

huichol center

huichol center 3

huichol center 2

i recently spent a remarkable week at the huichol center in huejuquilla el alto, jalisco. At the center they raise turkeys, rabbits, and organic chickens and grow their own vegetables while employing, training, and educating the huichol people.

while i was there, we finalized the HUICHOL LOVE earring line and began work on the line of HUICHOL LOVE bracelets.

my time there grew me in countless ways. i'll be back.

> > wirikuta <

i happened upon the huichol people and wirikuta on my first long adventure in mexico. wirikuta is a sacred place - its destruction would be a devastating loss.

i'm excited to be heading back to the mountains of mexico to be with the huicholes next week.

¡hasta pronto!

>> huichol art

traditionally, Huichol art is made for the gods.

bracelets

while reading Huichol Art and Culture: Balancing the World in the studio today, i came across a passage that addresses the dual role that art plays in Huichol society today.

C. Jill Grady writes:

“The economic benefits of producing Huichol art for sale outside the Sierra contribute to the acquisition of materials and goods for ceremonies, pilgrimages, and the ongoing production of sacred offerings inside the Sierra. Sacred art guarantees that the gods are content so the world stays balanced and keeps going. Outside art augments that balance, yet, Huichol know that only the gods can bestow prosperity. One especially positive result of this dual system of art production is that cash-poor Huichol no longer feel compromised by economic pressures to sell their sacred objects for survival. Outside art provides resources to help sustain the creation of their sacred art. Both art forms simultaneously work to insulate the culture. By creating a separate art for sale, the Huichol people have elegantly mediated the risks associated with compromising their traditional and historical cultural experience. In this way, they are continuing to choose when and how to interact with the outside dominant society on their own terms. They remain firm in their commitment to maintain balance in the world, while adapting to change over time and space.”

i'm headed back on a short trip to the Sierra Madre mountains in a few weeks to visit the Huichol people. in the meantime i too am working on "adapting to change over time and space."