Friday the 28^th 

Normally Guatemala is a 6 hour flight, but due to bad weather and rescheduling it took me two days!  The first week is always a bit stressful with getting settled in and I have already started teaching my yoga classes.   

Yesterday, Glenda and her husband Oswaldo surprised my with a visit.  Glenda is one of my Spanish teachers and the first women that I helped to create revenue in Guatemala. 

With young children Glenda wanted to start a home business renting rooms and cooking for foreigners visiting Antigua.  The winter of 2010 I was her first tenant, my commitment to stay at her house for three months and the home accessories that I brought allowed her to purchase a bed and construct a bedroom.  She lives in a poor community outside of Antigua and now has two rooms for rent with private bathrooms!  Next week I will be starting my sewing project and Spanish classes with Glenda and feel pretty good about my developing possibilities and connections! 

She saw my ikat fabric sample that I want to sew the dresses with and suggested buying the fabric directly from the Mayan women at the market.  Purchasing fabric from a textile factory would not help the indigenous population, so I guess I am going to the market today!

Hello,

I would like to give you an over-all view of my project in Guatemala before I start working.  This is my fifth year returning to Guatemala and in the past I have worked with the local women, but through a middle-man. The man in the middle was under paying the women and over charging me; therefore, I am going to set up my own work space and eliminate the guy in the middle!  Thanks to The Shepard of the Bay Lutheran church, for sponsoring me in this project, I am able to transport sewing machines and rent a work shop space.  

I have designed a simple wrap dress that we will be making with the ikat woven fabric so prevalent in Guatemala. I will further log-in my progress with organizing a sewing group  and setting up shop!  This year everything is new and it will take some time to research and discover the best mode to proceed.  Well, I always say that I can create something new that I've never done before; so, let's hope that my talent and luck will hold up! 

Introduction

Hello,

     I am Wendy Carpenter, a long-time artist and owner of Interfibers Studio Gallery in Fish Creek, Wisconsin.  My designs consist of large woven fiber wall sculptures.  My work expresses a connection with nature through form, color, and tactile material.  My timeless jewelry is custom-cut from Door County geodes, found in my backyard; along with an extensive display of jade jewelry in a wide variety of colors.

     I am creating this blog to document my progress in Guatemala, developing a community sewing workshop for local Mayan women. I am leaving Christmas Day for three months and will be updating my blog with my adventures in Guatemala, helping create a source of revenue and empowerment for local women.  Join me on this journey!

The Maya Woman (four from a nine-part series)