The visit to my parent’s ranch was life changing. I no longer felt that they were living among the heathen and in the depths of the wild west. For this New York city girl, I could only imagine the worst as my parents announced their move “waaaaaaay” out west to the ranch of their dreams. I would soon learn why they love the southwest so much!
As I sat in their large sunny parlor soaking in the sun, sipping my frosty glass of sweet tea, I noticed the chunky Mexican tiled floors with brightly colored rugs scattered throughout. My Mom joined me and when she saw my interest, proudly announced these stunning and colorful rugs were one of a kind and hand woven. She called them Zapotec Rugs and went on to tell me how she had purchased each rug on their mission trip to Southern Mexico from the Zapotec Indians in the town of Oaxaca.
Her eyes lit up as she continued to describe the rug making process of weaving on a hand loom. I learned that this method has been passed down throughout generations and that they continue to weave the same way today; kneeling in front of a vertical wooden framed loom with the artist using a shuttle to weave the brightly colored wool yarn into a lovely design. She even went on to tell me that the wool yarn is dyed using natural things from the earth such as red dirt and berries just to name a few.
The things in my contemporary apartment in New York suddenly began to loose their glamour. I sighed as I settled into the plump leather chair and began to see the natural beauty that seemed to surround my parent’s rustic ranch.
