With ‘holes’ currently on my mind, I’m collecting images on Pinterest http://www.pinterest.com/alisonschwabe1/holes/  I thought I’d share these lovely pre-Columbian objects we saw in Colombian museums, with patterns created using holes.  Most of them are from the Museo de Oro in Bogota, so breathtaking that we went back the next day!   The pot was from a museum featuring hand crafted pre-Columbian objects stretching back into the mists of early human settlement in the region.

When we walked into the foyer of this hotel, way, way above the class of hotel where we usually stay – a one night treat – I took a deep breath when I saw this fabulous hanging, wondering if it was El Anatsui’s work – and though it probably isn’t,…  Update – why did I not come back and update the information? At some later date I did learn this artist was Olga Amaral Colombia’s famous fibre artist, see images are online 

And there was no excuse for there being no accreditation on the wall near it, and no excuse for none of the staff around being able to tell me it, either!

These squares of whatever are less than 1″,  or say 2cm square, and joined by fibre or stitching,  but there seem to be 2 styles of joining, which give different texture areas.  The detail directly above, which I was able to see without handling it, suggests the ties go between two layers, suggestive of some of Kathy Loomis’ and Wen Redmond’s joined segmented works, but other parts seem to be linked with a metal piece, giving a more solid appearance.  Thought provoking anyway.

Update – in what I have read since discovering her work, her abstract designs carry deep emotional ties to her country’s history, geography and culture.

Inspiration is everywhere – this is a section of a Kuba cloth on display in a history museum in Medellin, Colombia, celebrating the fusion of African culture in with the native pre-Colombian Indian culture which of course were brought in contact with each other by the third, overwhelming influence, the colonial Spanish.  The Slave Trade C16-C19 was the mechanism by which this came about.  Everywhere we went in Colombia there was a stong pride in diversity and colour from the mixing of the races.  Colour was everywhere, and not only of the people but rich vibrant colour surrounded everyone and everything.  As soon as I saw these triangles with large stitches, I thought ‘fuse and stitch’ !!   I wish I’d taken a clearer pic,  but as an aide memoire, it’s perfect.  You can learn more about the makers, origins, uses and designs of Kuba cloth here  and find masses of superb images here    I’m a fan, and would love a piece – however I don’t think  they have ever been cheap; and I expect that with the primary source being male craftsmen in the war-torn Democratic Republic of the Congo, that few of them currently have much time to spend on this ancient craft.