Aula Artesana

Aula x - a partnership several years in the making, brings you Tintes y Textiles in May 2024. This expanded itinerary includes several days of weaving and dyeing, artisanal distillation, visits to the Inca pueblo of Ollantaytambo and an excursion to Machu Picchu. We are so pleased to finally launch this collaboration with Ace Camps - and hope you’ll join us this May ✨

Sharing through ❤️ :: A stroll down memory lane with photos and thoughts from Whitney of . She joined us on our first ever Tintes y Textiles retreat, with two days of weaving in the community of Patacancha.

¨I am indebted to Tomasa, the master weaver with whom I was paired during our two-day workshop with the women of Patacancha, Peru. She generously shared bits of her expertise in backstrap weaving (it turns out that yarn and hand-hewn tools are perfect translators to cross the Quechua/English language divide😊). She and her fellow weavers welcomed us into their workshop and sheltered us from drizzly rain with handwoven textiles and lent us their generations-old knowledge. Textiles can create community and connection, and this was a wonderful and valuable example of that. (Big thanks to for making this happen.)¨

We host group retreats and private workshops year-round. To join one of our curated retreats or workshops, be sure to contact us for our upcoming dates and details. Link in bio.

E A R T H D A Y 🌎

This Earth Day, we want to share the work of two renowned based in whose work illuminates the difficulties, and sometimes calamaties, poses to communities.

Photo 1 and 2: Part of the "Guardians of the Glaciers" series by the talented photographer , portraying the inhabitants of a community who are being directly affected by the accelerated melting of the Quelccaya Ice Cap. Her work just won the Latin American Professional Prize at Sony World Photography Awards.

Photo 3 and 4: Part of an ongoing project by talented photographer and friend . Titled "Qutiy, the Return," this is a project focuses on showing the healing properties of native maíz (corn) and the importance of supporting farmers and their rights in the face of globalization.

:: When all the energy and devotion of the region come to settle in the of Cusco. Each year, our awe for this emblematic structure is renewed as thousands descend on the

The Cathedral is the centerpiece of the Plaza de Armas and is considered a Site.

It houses invaluable works of art, paintings from colonial and post-colonial epocs and relics dating back to the Empire.

The current cathedral was built upon the foundations of the Quishuarcancha Inca temple, former palace of Viracocha, an Inca emperor.

The building's stonework comes from the Inca fortress of , a sign of the site's importance to the pre-colonial empire. It took more than 100 years to build.

The Cathedral demonstrates the forced fusion of Catholocism with Andean religion and spirituality - a Catholic church built upon the bedrock of an Inca temple. This tension is visible across Peru, from its religious structures to its holiday celebrations.

Are you in town for ? Comment to share your holiday experience ✨

:: give thanks for the flora that animate our world and bring color to our textiles. Our partners and natural dye experts at know them well 🌸🌷 leave a comment or send us a message to join a plant-filled workshop.

Photos thanks to and

WEAVING WORKSHOP :: An intimate day of immersion in natural plant dyes and traditional weaving techniques and symbology, set against the stunning backdrop of the Peruvian Andes in the community of Patacancha.

Come and join us in our next workshop - details and reservations at https://www.aulaartesana.com/weaving-workshop

Ph Miguel Palomino Fotógrafo

Our home country is fighting every day to be heard. We stand in solidarity and support with our community, our people, and our family. We demand that the government guarantee respect for human rights. There is no justification for these acts of violence.

Photography by of the Delegation of Ollantaytambo and Urubamba, Cusco joins the protests in Lima, in January 2023.

Wisdom and warmth. As always, does a beautiful job capturing spontaneous shots of the artisan partners we admire so much.

May you stir the pot this weekend, in all the right ways...

📸:

Straight from the dye bath, with bits of the botanical tint material still clinging on. Can anyone identify this color's key ingredient?