The Traveling Treasures

  NOVEMBER 26th, 2023 Blog #6 Huichol Beading of Mexico Welcome back everyone! In this blog entry I will be covering Huichol beading, a style of bead and string art native to Mexico. Huichol beading arose from the Indigenous people of the Huichol tribe from the Jalisco and Nayarit regions of Mexico. The beading always includes vivid colors and symbols, animals and designs ancient and sacred to the Huichol people. They were one of the last tribes under Spanish colonization, but their pagan religion remained resilient to the Spanish rule. Their spiritual beliefs are expressed through art in beadwork, yarn painting, wooden masks or embroidered adornments.          (TeleSURhd, The Mysticism of Mexico's Huichol People)                    Huichol Woman tending to her shop.  These religous beliefs are often depicted through representations of animals, ritual objects and nature. The Huichol religion places a gr...

  Blog #5 Chinese Kite Making and its History Welcome back! Today we will be going over kite making in China and it's history.  The kite is an invention native to China, with the earliest kite dating back to the Warring States Period , or 475-221 B.C. The original kites, called mutual, were made out of wood but the invention of paper changed this.  Kites were first used for militaristic purposes. Some functions included measuring distances, useful when transporting large armies across harsh terrain. They calculated wind readings and were a form of communication between armies.             (Illustration of Chinese Kite Flying, Ancient China) These kites were large in size to carry men up to spy on the enemy and to disperse propaganda leaflets. Laing Dynasty Emperor Wudi used the kite method to send out an S.O.S. when surrounded by rebel troops under You Jing. The frames of the kites are made from bamboo rods and were a pivotal step in ens...

  NOVEMBER 3RD, 2023 ABORIGINAL DOT ART Welcome back everyone! In blog #4 I will be covering the style of Aboriginal dot art, native to Australia.            An Example of Aboriginal art with use of dots.                                       (Australian Aboriginal Art: Understanding History, In Good Taste) Aboriginal Art includes a specific dot style, that was originally drawn over soil during ceremonies. There is a large emphasis of symbolism in the art with each shape representing a terrain, person or weapon. Body paint was another pivotal part to the art, with outlines of circles and dots.           An example of early Aboriginal art drawn in sand.      (Stories in the Sand: A History Of The Indigenous Painting Form) The style is abstract on purpose, this was so aboriginal artists could disguise the meaning of ...