Mayan Backstrap Weaving: History and Practice with Sari Monroy Solis — Aug 23

Dates: August 23, 2025
Times: Saturday, 9:30am-4:00pm (30 min break in the middle for lunch)
Level: All Levels
Membership Price: $180 (Members use discount code MEMBERS10 at checkout to receive 10% off)

Workshop Description:
Mayan Backstrap Weaving: History and Practice Join Sari Monroy Solís (Maya Kaqchikel/Xicana fiber artist) in a workshop that blends both a history of Indigenous fibers of the Americas and practical skills in the use of a backstrap loom. Weaving on this loom is an ancestral art that dates to over 10,000 years ago on this continent. It is a traditional expression of culture and identity in Indigenous communities of Central and South America. In this workshop, you will learn about the history of the backstrap loom, how to make plain woven cloth, and single-sided brocade patterns. You will also be introduced to the meaning behind several patterns and why these are woven to this day. The loom and brocade packet are yours to take home and practice at the end of the class. Sari teaches with the blessing of her elders and is dedicated to reviving the ancestral fiber arts of her people, particularly with her community. In this class, you will learn to weave with the help of your teacher who was taught to weave by her master weavers in Guatemala. The class will use cotton thread and a traditional wooden loom which is yours to take home along with your brocade kit.

About the Instructor:
Sari Monroy Solís is a Mayan fiber artist and culture bearer living in diaspora in the Bay Area. Her father came from the Maya Kaqchikel community in Sacatepequez, Guatemala,and her mother from the Nahua/Totonaca peoples in the highlands of Veracruz, Mexico. There are ancestral backstrap weaving traditions on both sides of her family and her first loom was inherited from her father.

Sari has taught throughout Northern California including at: Fibershed in Point Reyes Station, Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts in San Francisco, the San Mateo County Libraries, Seeds of Ancestral Renewal in Siskiyou County, Sol Collective in San Jose, and with Sacred Maker Collective in Oakland. You can find her on Instagram at:@theblueweaver.

$80 Materials fee to be paid directly to instructor. Cash is appreciated.

Required Materials:
None. Instructor will provide all materials.

Optional Materials:
A cushion for your seat?